Swing Life Away
by BungeeArms
Summary: Bella has been beaten her entire life by her drunk mother and saved again and again by her step father. When she gets word that her father Charlie has died she leaves for Forks and her new life.
1. Dead

"Bella get your ass down here!" Yelled Renee. I sighed and rolled my eyes. She was drunk again. I rolled off my stomach and got off my bed. I made my way down stairs to living room where she was waiting as slowly as I could. When I got there I found her sitting on the couch with a bottle of vodka in her hand.

"What?" I said.

"Hey! Lose the attitude." She said. I tried not to laugh at her. "I just got a call from Forks." I froze. My dad lived in Forks. He never called. He was afraid of speaking to Renee. When I was three she started getting drunk all the time. That's when she would beat me and throw things at Charlie. But even after all that he still loved her. When I was four she ran off with me and sent Charlie the divorce papers. Whenever Charlie contacted me it was through email. So something bad had to have happened if he called.

"What did Charlie want?" I said.

"Did I say Charlie called?" She said. I shook my head no, I had just assumed since she had said Forks she meant Charlie.

"Some doctor, Doctor Cullen, or something called. Charlie died last night." Renee said spitefully, taking a swing of her vodka. I could feel the tears trying to push out of my eyes and a lump was forming in my throat.

"What?" I said, my voice breaking. Renee sniggered at my weakness. Phil who was sitting in his arm chair looked up from the TV and shot me a sympathetic look. Phil was my step dad and my savior. He was the one that kept Renee from beating me all the time and kept her sober about 50% of the time. The other 50 she through bitch fits to make him leave her alone. Phil wasn't always around. He was a minor league baseball player so he traveled a bit. When he was gone that was when Renee beat me. When he came home me all bruised and cut up he always apologized and took care of me. I'm not exactly sure how they got together or got married.

"Yeah He had a heart attack. Dr. Cullen said that Charlie's will was found and he left everything to you!" Renee said a little angrily.

"Well what did you expect? You left him he wasn't going to leave you anything." I said nastily to her. She had no right to be angry.

"Shut up!" She yelled throwing her now empty bottle at me. It smashed in my face and cut me. It cut through my right eyebrow down to my cheek just below my eye. I started blinking really hard, trying to keep my vision clear of blood. Renee just laughed. I just made sure not to cry. "Since he left you everything you can get out!" She said evilly. I looked at her confused, so did Phil.

"What are you talking about?" Said Phil, he got up and walked over to me with a tissue trying to wipe the blood off my face.

"I mean," Said Renee angrily, "that Bella is 17, and Charlie left her money and the house. She's old enough to live on her own. I'm kicking her out." Phil froze.

"What!?" He yelled. I knew what was coming. They were going to start fighting. I ran out of the living room and up the stairs to my room. I slammed the door shut and locked it, trying not to cry as I listened to the fight going on downstairs. I ran to my closet and grabbed a huge military grade duffel bag. I started packing quickly; throwing everything I would need for the move into it. For once I was going to listen to Renee. I was going to leave. Any where was better than this place, even if I was going to be alone. I wrenched open my window and climbed out onto the little roof top that jutted out below it. I looked down. I was on the second story it would be a high jump, but I had done it before. I took a deep breath and jumped. I landed and rolled a few feet. I lay there for a minute catching my breath that was always really nerve racking.

I got up and started running. We lived in huge and busy Phoenix. So it wasn't hard to find a cab to hail. When I got into the cab I told him to drive to the air port. I was going to Forks.

When I got to the air port I quickly paid the cabbie and ran inside to buy my ticket. My flight was leaving on fifteen minutes. That's when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Bells its Phil. Come home you don't have to leave." He said sadly.

"Phil, listen. I'm really grateful to you for all the love and care you've shone me. But I need to leave. I can't live with her anymore. I need to be on my own." I said. He sighed heavily.

"Alright Bells. Just call me if you need anything." I nodded. I realized then that he couldn't see me doing that.

"Okay Phil. I will. I love you."

"I love you to Bells, bye." And then he hung up. I sighed and put my phone back in my pocket. Then some lady with a nasally voice came over the intercom and said my flight was boarding. About time. I boarded the plan and sat down. I was stoked I had a window seat. But my jubilation was ruined when a beautiful looking blonde girl sat in the seat beside me. She was tall and statuesque with long blonde hair and blue eyes. In short she was model type beautiful. She definitely knocked my self esteem down a few notches. To avoid conversation with the "model" I pulled my I pod out and started listening to it. She pulled out her cell phone and started texting.

Finally after about twenty minutes we were ready for takeoff. I turned my I pod off and put on my seat belt. The girl put her phone away and seat belted herself as well. As we started to takeoff I gripped the arm rests tightly. It was kind of scary, seeing as it was my first time. When we were safely in the air I was still a little tense. I felt a soft hand pat my arm comfortingly. I looked over, it was the blonde.

"Relax, were up in the air now." She said smiling at me. I nodded and relinquished my hold on the seat. "I'm Rosalie, my friends call me Rose." She said holding out her hand to shake. I flinched away from her slightly. She looked a little confused and hurt. I quickly took her hand in mine and shook it. I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"Isabella, but my friends call me Bella or sometimes Bells." I said. She smiled and I quickly withdrew my hand and as subtly as I could, sat on both my hands. She raised her eyebrows at me and I shrugged embarrassedly. I could feel my face turning red. She smiled at me; I suppose she was trying to make me feel better.

"Do you have a thing about touching people?" She said. Her voice was quiet. I nodded looking down at my lap. "It's okay. Some people are just like that. There's nothing wrong with that." She said. I looked up and gave her a small smile. If only she knew. If only she knew my aversion was because my mom would beat me in her drunken and sometimes not so drunken stupors and rages. For the rest of the flight we chatted quietly, getting to know each other. We both realized we were going to Forks. Rose lived there with her twin brother Jasper and her parents, who were both lawyers. We were just about to get into why I was going to Forks when the pilot came over the intercom saying we were about to land. I used my fears of flying as an excuse to not tell her. I gripped the arm rests again and closed my eyes.

"Just relax Bella it will be over soon." I heard Rose say sweetly beside me. Finally we landed and I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"I think landing is more terrifying then taking off." I said. Rose laughed. We both got our carry-on bags and exited the plane together. When we got to the baggage claim Rose's bags were already there.

"Bella do you want to exchange cell numbers?" I nodded and we exchanged. "Will you be here for the school year?" She asked, I nodded. "Cool I'll see you in school." She said and then she said good bye and walked off. I saw her walk over to a tall blonde boy who must be Jasper and a tall scary looking boy who she kissed, must be her boyfriend. I sighed and snatched my bag off the belt and walked out. I had to hail a taxi to get to Charlie's house. Well I guess it's my house now.

It took about a half hour to get to my house. When we pulled up I paid the cabbie and got out. As he pulled away I studied the house. It was exactly how I remembered it, two stories, white shutters, beige paint. I sighed and went up the walk. When I got to the door I went up on my tip toes to reach the eave where I knew Charlie kept the spare key. I quickly un locked the door and let myself in.

I walked into the house and looked around. It looked like it always did. The living room had a comfortable lived in old look, except for the huge flat screen TV. Of course Charlie would have that. He loved watching sports.

I walked into the kitchen. It was still the same as well. Chipping white paint, old wooden table with four mismatched chairs, and the faded in color refrigerator with loads of pictures that I had done as a kid. That made me smile.

I slowly walked upstairs and to my room. The only thing different about this room is there was no cradle and the kiddy wall paper was gone, replaced by light green paint. I quickly made my bed with my black bedding and put my clothes away. I put the few books I had brought with me on the book case along with some school supplies. I took out my lap top and plugged my I pod in. And then finally plugged in my alarm clock. I sighed and looked around my room. It wasn't much but it was home. All of a sudden I heard my stomach growl. I headed for the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat.

When I opened the fridge I was met with old milk and a loaf of bread that had started to mold. I sighed and threw both away. I ran up to my room and grabbed my wallet, then I headed to the garage. In the last letter Charlie wrote me he said he bought me a truck. I was planning on spending the summer with him. He said it would be by early birthday present since I would have to go back to Phoenix before my birthday. I walked into the garage and saw an old beat up red Chevy. It was a perfect match for me. We were both beat up and broke down. I climbed into its cab and found the keys in the ignition. I opened the glove compartment anf found a white envelope. In Charlie's hand writing and the envelope was my name.

_Dear Bella,_

_Happy early birthday! I'm so glad you've come to live with me, even if it is just for the summer. You have no idea how lonely it is. I love you kid!_

_Charlie_

That made me cry, I sat there for a while just mourning Charlie. Finally I started the truck and drove to the nearest grocery store. There weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot, so I figured I wouldn't have to deal with a lot of people.

I grabbed a shopping cart and started going up and down the aisle's picking up the things I would need. I only had a couple more aisle's to go. I rounded an aisle to go down and ran into someone. My cart and I went flying.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry." I heard a deep voice say. I saw my cart right itself and two big hands start to put my stuff back in my cart. He quickly finished and crouched down on my level offering me his hand. "I'm Emmett." He said kindly. But instead of responding with my name I freaked. I quickly got up and backed away from him behind my cart. Emmett was huge and scary… and familiar. Suddenly realized he was the big scary guy that Rose had kissed at the air port.

"Emmett! Stop you've scared her." A girls voice said. A short pixie like girl with black spiky hair came up to us.

"I'm sorry about my brother, I'm Alice." She said holding her hand out as Emmett had. I panicked even more and grabbed my cart and practically ran away. Once I was all the way across the store from them and safely down an aisle I stopped and calmed myself down. I had completely over reacted. Emmett hadn't meant to run into me. And he certainly hadn't realized that he had hurt me. The night before Renee kicked me out she beat me really bad. My ribs were sore and she gave me a black eye. I'm surprised Rose hadn't asked about my black eye and the cut on my face that Renee gave me when she threw that bottle at me. Maybe that's how she realized I didn't like to be touched; she recognized that I was most likely beaten a lot. I sighed and made myself resume my shopping.

Emmett's POV

"Emmett you idiot." Said Alice, slapping me, as we watched the frightened girl run away with her cart.

"I told her I was sorry. Alice I don't think her reaction was my fault. Did you see her face?" I said.

"No I didn't get the chance, she ran before I could." Said Alice sadly. We finished our shopping quickly and then drove home. We had been junk food for our movie night tonight with Edward, our brother, Jasper, Alice's boy friend, And Rosalie, Jasper's sister and my girl friend. When we walked in the other three were already settled. Edward was sprawled on the floor with a pillow facing the TV. Jasper was laid out on the couch and Rose was sitting in the recliner. Alice pranced over to Jasper while I went and sat with Rose. We started the movie and were all silently shoving our faces full with junk.

"Rose?" I whispered.

"Hm?" She said still watching the movie.

"I literally ran into this girl at the grocery store. Rose her face was all beat up." I said. At this Rose's head snapped to look at me.

"Bella." She said.

"What?"

"Her name is Bella I met her on the plane here. She's going to start at our school tomorrow." I nodded my head.

"Rose she freaked when Alice and I tried to touch her." I said sadly. Rose nodded like she already knew about what I was talking.

"She doesn't like to be touched. She didn't tell me but I think she was beaten Em." She sighed sadly.

"We should look out for her." I said. She nodded her head.

"Yeah I'll text her later tonight and check in with her."  
"You have her number?" I said. She nodded. I smiled and pulled her closer and turned back to the movie. I love my girl friend.

Bella's POV

I finally finished my shopping and got home. I quickly put everything away. But by the time I was done I wasn't hungry anymore. I realized that I really hadn't eaten all day but I didn't care. I went up to my room and changed into my pajamas. I went back downstairs and walked into the living room.

I looked around quietly. I walked over to Charlie's recliner and sat down in it, folding my legs under me. I pulled the old quilt my grandma had made for him off the back of the chair and wrapped myself in it. Just then my phone vibrated and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a text from Phil.

_Hey Bells. I enrolled you in Fork's high. No need to thank me. Lol. Love you, Phil._

I smiled and closed my phone. I turned on the TV after putting up the chairs foot rest. ESPN was on.

"Charlie." I said with a smile. I fell asleep to the sounds of sports and the smells and feelings of Charlie that I had wrapped myself in.


	2. First day

I woke up to the light streaming across my face through the partially open curtains. I sat up; I had fallen asleep in Charlie's chair. The TV was still on I clicked it off and looked at my phone for the time. It was 7 00. I decided I should get up and get ready for school. I ran upstairs and took a quick shower. When I was done I got dressed. I pulled on a long sleeved thermal black shirt, slightly baggy jeans, and black low top converse. I scrutinized my hair before deciding to straighten my hair. It was long and in layers. It came down to my waist. My side swept band fell into my eyes and I smiled and blew them out of the way. I considered make up before discarding the idea. Why bothering to try to cover up the black eye and the long cut on my face?

I trudged down stairs with my back pack on. I grabbed my phone and considered breakfast. No thanks. I walked out the door and to my monster truck. It roared to life as I drove to the school.

My stomach growled and I rolled my eyes. Sometime during the night I had sub consciously decided I needed more control in my life. I couldn't control how Renee treated me. And I couldn't control Charlie dying. I could control what I ate though.

I pulled into the Forks high parking lot. All heads turned toward me because of all the noise my truck made. I blushed and quickly pulled into a spot. I saw a couple spaces away a flash of blonde. Rosalie was coming over to me, alone thankfully. I could see Emmett and Alice and two others watching her as she walked away from them and toward me. When she got to me she pulled open my door.

"Hey Bella." She said wrapping her arms around my waist, which is what she could reach because I was still sitting in my truck. I tensed up immediately. "Relax Bella." She said like she had on the plane when I freaked about taking off and landing, I listened to her. She pulled back a little so she could see my face, she was smiling. "I was going text you last night but my phone died before I could." She said sadly. I smiled at her.

"It's okay Rose." I said surprising both myself and her when I hugged her back. She smiled as she released me, taking a step back so I could get out of the truck. I closed the door.

"Hey Emmett said he met you last night. He's really sorry Bella." She said lowly. I nodded.

"I know. It's not his fault I'm a freak." I said looking down at my feet.

"You're not a freak Bella." She said. When I looked up she was smiling. All of a sudden the bell rang.

"Come on Rose!" Emmett shouted. We both looked over to her group. I saw beside Emmett one of the most beautiful boys I had ever seen. He had bronze hair and a guitar strapped to his back. He was staring at me.

"Coming Bella?" Rose said grabbing my attention.

"Uh no. I need to go to the office." I said, quickly running off. I didn't stop running until I made it to the office.

Edward's POV

Rose had left us to go talk to the new girl. I watched as she pulled the door to the girl's truck and hugged her like they knew each other.

"That's the girls from the grocery store. How does Rose know her?" Said Alice to my left. Last night we had all heard about Emmett and Alice's run in with the beaten faced girl.

"Rose met her on the plane they made friends." Emmett said. I nodded quietly as I focused on the girl. She was beautiful despite her beaten face. The bell rang. Emmett yelled for Rose to come on. The girl looked over to use and she met my eyes. She visibly stiffened. Rose said something to her and she said something back and then she actually ran away towards the school. I watched her the whole way.

Bella's POV

I calmed my breathing before walking into the school's office. A kind looking women with red hair greeted me when I walked in. She set me up with a locker and my schedule and a map of the small school. I left the office and made my way to English. When I walked in all eyes turned to me. I walked up to the teacher and quietly told him who I was. I received a sympathetic glance from him, Mr. Varner.

"I'm sorry about your dad Bella." He said quietly. I just nodded and looked at the floor. He directed me to an open seat by a blond hair baby faced boy who smiled at me as I walked up. After I sat down he introduced himself.

"I'm Mike Newton." He said holding his hand out. I panicked. I quickly pretended to sneeze hand. Mike quickly with drew his hand.

"Bella Swan." I said, telling him my name. A sympathetic look crossed over his face before he smiled.

"Nice to meet you Bella." He said. I nodded and turned away to the front of the class where Mr. Varner was talking. Was everyone going to pity me and look at me with sympathy when they realized who I was? I didn't think Rose knew my last name which is probably why she hadn't given me the look yet. Throughout the class I felt Mike looking at me. I tensed up and waited for class to be over. Finally the bell rang. Before Mike could say anything I bolted to my next class. I was like that for the rest of the morning. I was tense and wary of people. Mike wasn't in anymore of my morning classes. But I did me a two boys Eric and Ben and three girls Angela, Jessica, and Lauren. Eric was a bit nerdy and I could tell right away he would get on my nerves. Ben was really sweet. He was really laid back and didn't try to bother me like Mike had. Angela was a quiet bookish girl who like Ben didn't try to bother me. Jessica wouldn't quit asking me questions; I could tell she was the school gossip. Lauren just glared at me. She obviously didn't like me, for reasons unknown to myself.

Finally the bell for lunch rang. I walked quietly to the lunch room. When I got there I scanned the room. I saw an empty table in the corner and walked to it and sat down. I could see Rose across the room from me sitting with Emmett and other. She caught my eye and beckoned me over. I shook my head and looked down. A few seconds later my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw I had a text from Rosalie.

_Bella why won't you come sit with us? ___

I sighed.

_Sorry Rose, I'm just not comfortable._

I hit send. I sighed. I wasn't eating again. My phone vibrated again.

_It's okay Bells I understand._

I looked up at her and she smiled. I gave her a tentative smile back. I glanced around her table and saw the bronze haired god staring at me again. I quickly looked back down at my table.

Edward's POV

"Did you ask her?" Said Alice.

"Yes I did." Said Rose turning around from looking at Bella. She shoved her phone back in her bag and started eating.

"And?" Said Alice excitedly.

"She said no Alice." Rose said unconcernedly, still eating.

"But why?" Alice said. When Rose ignored her she kept nagging.

"Alice, just drop it!" Rose said snapping. The whole time they were talking I was looking at Bella. She saw me looking and she quickly dropped her gaze back to her table, blushing. I sighed and looked at the fight that was happening in front of me.

"Why Rose!? I want to be her friend too."

"Listen Alice, just stop. She's not comfortable." Alice quieted down after that, pouting slightly. I sighed and got up.

"Where are you going?" Said Jasper.

"Bio." I said.

"But there's still fifteen minutes until the bell rings." Said Emmett. I shrugged and walked off. When I was half way across the room I saw Bella look up at me. I threw her a smile which she returned embarrassedly. I made my way to the bio room, it was unlocked but Mr. Banner wasn't inside. He often let me come in here early before class to play my guitar. He said he enjoyed it. But today he wasn't here. I quietly let myself in and walked to my seat in the back of the room. I strummed quietly and then started to sing.

"I should never think  
What's in your heart  
What's in our home  
So I won't

You'll learn to hate me  
But still call me baby  
Oh love  
So call me by my name

And save your soul  
Save your soul  
Before your to far gone  
Before nothing can be done

I'll try to decide when  
She'll lie in the end  
I ain't got no fight in me  
In this whole damn world  
So hold off  
She should hold off  
It's the one thing that I've known

Once I put my coat on  
I coming out in this all wrong  
She standing outside holding me  
Saying oh please  
I'm in love  
I'm in love

Girl save your soul  
Go on save your soul  
Before it's to far gone  
And before nothing can be done

Cause without me  
You got it all  
So hold on  
Without me you got it all  
So hold on  
Without me you got it all  
Without me you got it all  
So hold on  
Without me you got it all  
Without me you got it all  
So hold on."

Then the bell rang. I quietly kept strumming, not really playing anything in particular. Slowly the room started to fill up. About five minutes after the bell rang for class to start Bella walked in.

Bella's POV

Great I'm late. I was too busy thinking about Mr. Bronze hair Adonis to realize the bell had rung. Why was he staring at me again? I walked into bio and up to the teacher, Mr. Banner.

"Excuse me I'm sorry I'm late but I'm new here, I'm Bella Swan." I said quietly.

"Oh yes Bella I'm sorry about Charlie." I just nodded. I had gotten this so far from all of my teachers.

"Well today we are having a free period." He said gesturing to the class. I glanced around and saw people socializing. "Your seat will be beside Edward." He said pointing. I followed his finger and saw he was pointing at my Adonis. He was quietly strumming a guitar. I saw sitting around him three girls, Jessica, Lauren, and Angela. "Come on Bella I'll kick them out of the way so you can get to know your lab partner." He said. I nodded. I followed him down the aisle. When we got there he cleared his throat.

"Lauren I'm going to need you to vacate that seat, it now belongs Bella, she's Edward's knew lab partner." I saw Lauren glare at me and then nod at Mr. Banner. Why doesn't this girl like me?

"Come on Jessica." Said Lauren. Jessica had a look on her face that she would rather stay and keep swooning over Edward, but she followed after Lauren any way. Angela was sitting on the other side of Edward quietly reading a book. As I sat down Edward stopped playing and leaned in and whispered something to Angela. She nodded and closed her book. She got up and went to her desk. Edward turned to me and smiled a very beautiful crooked smile at me.

"Hello I'm Edward Cullen and your Bella." He said quietly. I saw his hand twitch forward a little like he was going to hold out to shake but he stopped himself. He had no idea how much better it made me feel. I really hate touching people and them touching me.

"Yeah I'm Bella." I said offering up a small weak smile.

"So you're friends with Rose? She said she met you on the plane." He said. I nodded, looking down at my hands resting on the desk. He leaned in and I tensed up and leaned my body slightly away from him. I saw out of the corner of my eye, he furrowed his brow but leaned away from all the same. For the rest of the period he asked me questions and I answered them. Every time we got to the subject of parents or why I moved here I steered him another direction by asking a question of my own. By the end of the period I could tell he was frustrated with me. Finally the bell rang.

"Bye Bella." He said smiling that crooked smile at me. I smiled back.

"Bye." I said getting up quickly and power walked out of the room toward my last class, gym.

"Bella! Hey Bella!" I turned around to see who was calling me. Mike Newton. "Hey Bella. I was going to talk to you in Bio but Cullen wouldn't stop talking to you." He said as he fell into step with me, a slight frown on his face.

"Hey Mike." I said keeping my gaze on the floor as we walked.

"So… I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight?" He said. My head snapped up to look at him. He looked hopeful. I stalled for a bit before answering.

"Um I don't think so Mike." His face fell.

"Okay Bella maybe another time." He said as we got to the locker room doors. I didn't say anything I just waved and walked into the girls locker room.

Coach Clapp said I could sit out today because it was my first day. I internally sighed a sigh of relief. My body still had cuts and bruises from Renee and it was still sore from my run in with Emmett. I sat on the bleachers watching everybody else play badminton.

How was it that nobody had said anything about my face. It looked like I was beaten. Maybe people were afraid to ask. I was glad because I would be too afraid to answer.

Finally the last bell rang. I stood up slowly and put my bag on my back. I trudged out of the gym still deep in thought. That is until I felt a strong hand on my upper arm. I froze up as they spun me around.

"Hey Bella." It was Mike again.

"Hey." I said as I pulled out of his grasp. He narrowed his eyes at me a little.

"So Bella I was wondering would you like to go out tomorrow since you can't tonight?" He said his face unfurling a bit.

"Uh… no Mike sorry." I said starting to turn away from him. He ran around in front of me and held his hands up.

"Okay then how about the day after that, Thursday?" He said again. I shook my head and tried to walk around him. He grabbed my arm roughly and pushed me against the wall, pushing his body against mine.

"One more chance Bella. Friday?" He asked. But I didn't hear him. I was frozen. This could not be happening!

"Hey Newton!" I was broken out of my stupor by a loud deep voice. I turned my head to the left, Emmett.

"Hey Emmett." Said Mike causally.

"What's going on here." Said Emmett crossing his arms across his chest.

"Just talking to my new girl friend." Said Mike his grip on my arm tightening in a silent threat to me, play along. Emmett looked down at my terrified face and then glanced at Mike's grip on me.

"I don't think so Newton. Let go of Bella or I'll make you let go." He said cracking his knuckles. Mike let go of me holding his hands up and slowly walking backwards. Before he turned his back he glared at me. I was frozen.

I felt a big hand rest gently on my shoulder.

"Bella are you okay?" Emmett said. I looked up at still with my terrified face. "Aw Bells." He said. He pulled me into a hug and I instantly froze. But he just rubbed my back and whispered that it was okay. I instantly relaxed into him. I buried my head into his wide chest and let the tears come.

"Oh god Emmett." I cried.

"Shhhh." He said.

"Emmett what going on?" I heard Rose come up. "Bella? What's wrong." I was sobbing to hard to answer.

"Mike Newton was harassing her, had her pushed up against the wall, I think he hurt her. I chased him off. He kept glaring at her Rose. I don't like this." Said Emmett angrily, tightening his grip on me. I started calming down but I didn't let go of him. I felt a small hand touch my back and I seized up.

"Relax Bells." Said Rose, I listened. I turned my head away from Emmett's chest to look at her. She had an anxious look on her face. "Are you okay?" She said holding her arms out to me. I nodded, letting go of Emmett and falling into her embrace. I buried my head into the crook of her neck. I felt Emmett wrap his arms protectively around the both of us. After a couple minutes of just standing there hugging we broke apart.

"Come on you two." Said Emmett, wrapping on arm around Rose and one arm around me. As we walked out of the building any time someone would get to close to me I would get closer to Emmett. By the time we were in the parking lot I was being held tightly against his side. I looked up at his face to see him scanning the parking lot, probably watching out for Mike or any other threat to me. It made me feel a bit better. They walked me to my truck quietly. We were getting a lot of stares from people, in particular Rose and Emmett's friends. Edward was staring at me. The short girl with black hair looked upset and the blonde boy looked a little confused. I shied away from their stares as we reached my truck. Emmett let me go and opened the door for me and helped me in. I sat down and looked at them.

"Bella here's my number. To hesitate to call me of you ever need a big strong handsome brother to protect or help you." He said smiling. I smiled at his use of the word brother. I nodded and took the number. Rose smiled up at me and hugged me.

"Bye Bella see you tomorrow. If you need us just call." She said. I nodded. Emmett closed the door. I turned on the truck and pulled out. I watched them in the rear view mirror, they were standing there watchingme drive away.

I drove home mauling over my day. I had two good friends, Rose and Emmett. I had an angry stalker, Mike. And a possible… crush? Edward. I sighed heavily, quietly driving home. When I got there I went straight up to my room and got into my pj's. I went down stairs and looked in the fridge. I shook my head and closed the door. I went into the living room and curled up in Charlie's chair with his blanket and turned on ESPN.

Rose's POV

We stood there holding onto each other, watching Bella drive away.

"Rose saving her from Newton just makes me more determined to protect her." Emmett said. I nodded. He wrapped his arm around my waist. We started walking toward out group. When we got there I was confronted by an angry Alice.

"What the heck!? Last night she was flipping scared of Emmett and now she's letting him keep his arm around her?" Said Alice. "I thought she was uncomfortable to be around us Rose." Said Alice accusingly. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Back off Alice. I was surprised when she even let Emmett touch her." I said crossing my arms across my chest.

"Well I wasn't." Said Emmett indignantly. " I mean I saved her from Newton."

"What?" Said Edward.

"Yeah. Newton had her cornered and was being a bitch." Emmett said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah Alice so don't act all put out." I said. She huffed angrily and got into the car.

Edward's POV

Bella, poor Bella. I wish it had been me to save her and not Emmett. I really like her. I want to save her. I want to get to know her. I sighed as we all got in the car after Alice. I will get her to trust me.

Bella's POV

I sighed. I had been watching ESPN for hours. I felt my stomach growl. I hadn't eaten in two days. I didn't care. I needed this control. I slowly closed my eyes and fell asleep to the sounds of football and the smells of Charlie.


	3. Nightmare

For the rest of the week things went pretty well. Mike Newton didn't try to bother me. Although every time I passed him in the hallways he threw me looks. Some longing, some angry, some just unreadable. Emmett and Rosalie walked me to every class, never letting me out of their sights. During lunch they tried getting me to sit with them and their friends, but I still didn't feel comfortable. They tried sitting with me but I wouldn't let them abandon their friends. I already felt like their friends probably hated me for hogging up all if Rose's and Emmett's time. So they watched over me from across the cafeteria. Edward often watched me during lunch as well. I caught him staring a couple time. He would always just smile and wave. I would just give him a small wave and lower my gaze to the table.

In bio Edward would speak to me softly, calming he was trying to get to know me. I would tell him something's and steer him away from others. He was starting to wear on my resolve. I was considering letting him in. I was already starting to trust him like I did Emmett and Rose.

It was Friday night. I had done the same things I had done every night since coming to forks. Not eating and curling up into Charlie's recliner with his blanket and falling asleep to ESPN. But the past two nights I had been having this night mare. And it was back tonight.

_I walked into Charlie's house._

_I could hear him yelling my name._

_I run into the living room._

_He's on the floor._

_He's clutching his chest._

_He's reaching out to me._

_His heart bursts out of it chest._

_Charlie screams._

_His heart pumps fast._

_And then it stops._

_Charlie goes pale and then…_

_Dies._

I sit up fast, screaming my head off. That dream felt so real. Even though I know people's hearts can't literally burst out of their chests. I'm sobbing hard, I'm hysterical. Without thinking I grab my phone and dial Emmett.

"Hello?" He says groggily into the phone. I'm bawling trying to talk to Emmett. "Bella? Where are you? Are you okay? I'm coming! Just tell me where you are!" I tell my address. "Bella why are you in the chiefs house?" He says but I hang up and throw my phone across the room. It lands on the couch. He knew my father and he knew that he lived here. I shouldn't have called him. Now that I was calmer I regretted calling Emmett. He had been sleeping. I woke him up. HE told me to call him if I needed him. He meant for stuff like Mike, not a stupid girl and her stupid night mares. I felt guilty.

A couple minutes later I heard frantic knocking on the door. I got up quietly. I could already feel the tears dripping down my face again. I opened the door and Emmett rushed in, swooping me up in his arms. I started bawling again. He closed the door with his foot and carried me into the living room. He stood there in the middle of the room, trying to calm me. After a couple of minutes my sobbing subsided to sniffling.

"Bells what's wrong? Why are you in Chief Swan's house? You know he's dead right?" He said. At this comment I buried my head into his chest and started crying again. I felt him carry me in the direction of Charlie's chair and sit down with me in his lap. He was rubbing my back and whispering to me. "Shhh Bells. It's okay. I'm sorry. What did I say? Tell me kid."

"D..d..dead." I stuttered. His face froze.

"What?" He said.

"Chief Swan w…was my D..d…dad." I stuttered out.

"Oh god bells! I didn't make the connection. How could I not realize? His daughter's name is Isabella and your name is Isabella. I'm sorry Bella." He said holding me tighter to his chest. After a couple of minutes my crying subsided. I picked my head up off of his chest and looked at him.

"I'm sorry Emmett. I woke you up because I had a night mare."

"You had a nightmare? What about? The chief?" He said concernedly. I nodded. "Oh Bells. It's okay. Everything will be okay." He said rubbing my back. I sighed and nodded, because that's all I could do. How I could I tell him that I felt so guilty over Charlie? That I felt like it was somehow my fault. He sighed too. He reached around the side of the chair and put the foot rest up. He pulled me closer to him and draped the blanket over us.

"Emmett, what are you doing?" I said, my voice coming out very shaky.

"I'm not leaving you alone tonight. Maybe you'll get a better sleep if I'm here. And if you have another nightmare I'll be here for you. Bella you're my little sister I'm taking care of you." He said holding me tightly to his chest, while he rested his chin on my head. I smiled slightly at the sister comment. I felt myself telling him about the nightmare. At the end he was whispering comforting things to me and patting my hair. I felt like Emmett was the big brother I never had. I closed my eyes and fell asleep quickly with Emmett there.

What felt like only minutes later I woke up. I opened my eyes slowly. The living room was lit up because of the sun coming through the blinds. My head was snuggled into the crook of Emmett's neck. I looked up at him, he was still asleep. I glanced at the clock on the DVD player. It was just after seven. I sighed heavily and buried my head back into Emmett.

"What's wrong Bells?" He mumbled. I looked up at him again and his eyes were open.

"Your awake?" I said.

"Have been for a while." He said. "Something wrong Bells?" He said rubbing my arm. I shook my head. "If you say so." He said smiling. He sat up in the chair with me so I was perched on his lap.

"I'm sorry you had to spend the night with me Emmett. You could have been sleeping in your bed instead of in a recliner." I said looking down at the floor guiltily.

"Hey it doesn't matter. I'm glad you called me Bells. I'm glad you even thought to call me. When I gave you my number I thought you would ignore it and never call me." He said. I looked up, he looked sad.

"Really?" I said. He nodded and hugged me.

"So what do you want to do today?" He said smiling. I just stared at him.

"What?" I said confused.

"What are we doing today?" He repeated.

"Wouldn't rather be with Rosalie and your friends?" I asked.

"No. Today it's you and me kid." He said smiling.

"But why?" I said still confused. Why would he want to hang out with me?  
"Listen I spend too much time with them, everyday! Rose is my girl friend and I love her but if you spend too much time with your significant other you get tired of each other. Edward is my brother he" But I cut him off.

"Edward's your brother? I didn't know that." I said quietly.

"Yeah. And Alice is my sister, Edward's twin really. And Jasper is Rose's twin. Listen today it's just me and you kid. You need me more than they do right now." I smiled and nodded. "So what do you want to do?" I shrugged and grabbed the remote and clicked the TV on. He sat back still holding me and we watched Saturday morning cartoons. About an hour and a half later his phone rang. He pulled it out and answered it.

"Hello?" He said.

Emmett's POV

"Hey Emmett! Where are you?" Said Alice. "Remember the five of us have plans today!" She said excitedly.

"Sorry Al. I'm gonna have to ask for a rain check, I'm busy. Something important has come up." I said. Rubbing Bella's back as she looked up at me questioningly. I smiled down at her and shook my head. I really felt like she was my second sister and I was going to take care of her.

"What do you mean rain check!?" Alice yelled. Bella winced. She could hear her.

"Sorry Al! Bye!" I said laughing as I hung up.

"You already had plans with your friends. Emmett you shouldn't ditch them because of me." She said sadly. I could see it in her eyes. She didn't think she was worth it. She felt guilty. Rose had told me that Bella felt like she was stealing us from the others and that they probably hated her. I disagreed and so did Rose. The other weren't mad at Bella they were mad at us for keeping her away from them. I frowned slightly. My phone rang again. I was still frowning when I picked up.

"Hello?" I said.

"Emmett it's Rose. I'm at your house and your not. Alice says your rain checking!? Why? What's so important?" She said sounding slightly upset. I sighed and tightend my hold on Bella.

"Bella is." I said softly. Bella looked up at me confused. I just patted her hair.

"Oh god what happened?" Rose said her voice becoming worried. I heard Alice in the back ground asking questions. I rolled my eyes.

"She had a nightmare. Did you know she was the chief's daughter?" I said. Bella buried her head into my chest. I sat back with her and held her to me.

"No I didn't. She never said anything. Oh god Emmett. How long have you been there?" She said sadly.

"Since 2 00." I said.

"She must have been so freaked. Was the nightmare about him?" She asked cryptically. I could hear Alice in the back ground, asking what nightmare and who is him and her? I shook my head.

"Yeah. She told me about it when I got here. She was so freaked. I'm staying with her today Rose. Sorry." I said.

"It's okay Emmett. Take care of her please. I would come over too but I don't want to crowd her. Just make sure she's alright. And tell her I love her." She said. I loved Rose. She could be so compassionate.

"Okay Rose, I love you." I said.

"I love you too Em." With that she hung up.

I looked down at Bella. Her head was resting on my chest as she watched sponge bob blow bubbles. She had a slight smile on her face.

"So are we watching cartoons all day?" I said smiling at her. She nodded absent mindedly. I laughed which cause her to giggle. "Okay then." I said.

Rose's POV

"So what did he say? Where is he? Who's he with? You said something about a girl. He's with another girl? What night mare? What 'him' was it about?" Alice said very quickly. I held my hand up to silence her.

"Alice, chill out. It's none of your business. He's taking care of a friend in need, that's all." I said walking away from her and sitting on the couch in between Jasper and Edward.

"It's Bella isn't it?" Said Alice quietly. I saw in my peripheral Edward perk up at Bella's name.

"If you really must know, yes he's with Bella. But other then that you don't need to know anymore." I said.

Edward's POV

Bella? He's with Bella? She had a nightmare? What about? I really wished I was with her. I really really like her, maybe even love her. I want to take care of her and make her better. She seems so broken and lost. I just want to help her fix herself.

Emmett's POV

We watched cartoons for hours. Around eleven she fell back asleep. I lay there in the recliner with her, cuddling her to me. I looked out the window. It was sunny out, which is why today I and the gang had been planning on playing baseball in a field near our house. But Bella needed me. I tightened my hold on her again. And again I felt her bones. She was so thin. I looked around the room. On the walls were old pictures of her Charlie. She looked so different. She was much thinner now. This worried me. I froze. I have never seen this girl eat. Not at lunch. Not a snack between classes. Or breakfast in hand when she's running late for school. Earlier when I asked her if she was hungry she said no, that the night mare had made her lose her appetite. What was going on with Bella?


	4. Broken

I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. I felt myself moving up and down slowly with the movement of Emmett's breathing. He was still here. I smiled at this revelation. I lifted my head off his chest to look at the DVD clock. It was just after 5 am. He had sat with me all night, all day, and then all night again!? I couldn't believe it. He was one of the best friends I had ever had.

A light caught my eye. I looked down at his phone which was sitting on the little side table. It was vibrating. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Rosalie was flashing across the screen. I flipped it open and answered it quietly.

"Rose?" I said, carefully getting off Emmett and walking away into the kitchen so as to not wake him.

"Bells is that you?" She said worriedly.

"Yeah it's me." I said.

"Are you alright?" She said.

"I'm fine. Emmett and I watched cartoons all day and then we both fell asleep. I'm sorry if we worried you, I tried telling him he didn't have to stay with me." I said quietly.

"No it's okay. I'm glad he stayed with you." She said. I could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"If you say so." I mumbled. A few moments passed between us in silence.

"Bells would it be okay to come over?" She said.

"Sure." I said quietly. She said her thanks and then hung up. I walked back into the living room to find a wide awake Emmett with a panicked look on his face. When he saw me he relaxed.

"Where did you go? You scared me." He said. I walked up and handed him his phone, he looked confused.

"Rose is coming." I said with a small smile. He smiled back and sat back in the chair, holding his arms out to me. I climbed into his embrace and we both waited for Rosalie's arrival.

About five minutes later we heard a knock at the door. I hopped up and walked to the door. When I opened it I saw a smiling Rose in her pj's. She was wearing a white tanktop and flannel pajama pants. She quickly pulled me into a hug. She was a lot taller than me. She picked me up with my arms wrapped around her neck, my feet dangling off the floor. We walked into the living room and I heard Emmett's booming laugh.

"There's a midget hanging from you necklace." He said. I laughed too; I recognized the song he was referencing. I felt Rose laugh too. She placed me on the floor and walked over to Emmett and sat in his lap. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Bells." Said Rose holding her arms out. I laughed. They wanted me to sit with them. I shook my head.

"I feel dirty I need a shower first please." I said. She nodded and let her arms drop. I saw Emmett kiss her cheek before I left the room. I climbed the stairs and went into my room. I looked at myself in the mirror.

I had dark circles under my eyes, evidence that I did not sleep well. My skin was pale and translucent. My hair went down to my waist and was messy. Charlie's rumpled T shirt went down to my knees. His old tube socks went above my knees. I shook my head. I walked over to my dresser. I pulled out a plain white hoodie and a pair of black leggings. I took them to the bathroom with me. I stripped and hopped in the shower. I scrubbed myself with my favorite strawberry shampoo and body wash. I finished that task quickly. For a long time I just stood there, letting the warm water wash over me. I just stared at nothing, not thinking anything. All of a sudden my body was thrown into shock when the water went cold; all of the warm had run out. I sighed and turned it off. I climbed out of the shower. But before I could reach for my towel I caught sight of m body in the mirror.

I could see my ribs. I turned body lifting my arms above my head. I saw my ribs strain against my skin. A small smile crept onto my face. These were the physical results of my need for control in my life. Not eating was paying off. I felt some semblance of control. I lowered my arms as my eyes skimmed my body. They wandered from my reflection to the rest of the room. I saw evidence of Charlie everywhere. I looked at his discarded clothes that I had been wearing and I felt tears prick my eyes. Not enough control. My body was a start but it was not enough. I still couldn't control myself, my life. Charlie was still gone.

I felt myself go numb as my gaze turned back to the mirror. I shook my head. And before I knew what I was doing I was reaching into the medicine cabinet and pulling out Charlie's stash of razors. I lifted one to my arm and gave myself a shallow cut. I gasped and dropped it. What was I doing? I washed it off and wrapped it in a tissue and put into the cabinet, quickly closing the door. I looked down at my bleeding arm. I stopped the bleeding with some tissues and then put a big band aid on it. I pulled on my clothes and then put Charlie's in the dirty clothes hamper.

As I walked down the hall I felt my clothes fitting looser, where as a couple of weeks ago when I wore these clothes before I moved to Forks they were form fitting and comfortably snug. Now they were loose. I smiled a little at that. I walked down the stairs and into the living room. I saw Rose and Emmett asleep on the recliner, that made me smile. I walked into the kitchen. I decided since it had been a week since the last time I ate I should eat something small. I pulled out a chewy bar and ate it in two bites. I felt sick. My body apparently is already getting used to not eating. I walked back into the living room with a glass of water and my wrapper. I knew Rose and Emmett had noticed how I didn't really eat. I sat the wrapper and the water down on the coffee table in plain view of the recliner. So they would see I had eaten. If it appeared to them like I had eaten they wouldn't ask questions. I curled up on the couch and looked at the clock. I was 5 20. I closed my eyes and drifted off.

Rose's POV

I awoke to the sun in my eyes. I opened my eyes and saw I was in Bella's living room. I watched as the sun moved behind the clouds and started raining. I sighed. I looked down at Emmett. His eyes were open and looking at me.

"I guess it's not going to be a nice day outside today." He said. I nodded. "Where's Bella?" He said. We looked around the room and spotted her sprawled across the couch. Her hoodie was lifted up and hand was resting on her small stomach. Her other hand was resting behind her head. Her one leg was propped up while the other dangled over the side of the couch. She moved and her top lifted higher. We could see her ribs. I gasped. You could count them.

"Emmett?" I said turning to him. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at Bella with a sad expression.

"Does she ever eat?" He said. As I got up and walked over to Bella.

"Apparently." I said, picking up the chewy bar wrapper and holding up for him to see. He sighed and nodded.

"She did say she had no appetite yesterday because of the nightmare. Maybe it's a recurring nightmare, maybe that's why she barely eats." He said sitting back. I nodded. I took her wrapper and the half full water glass and put them into the kitchen. When I came back in she was stirring. I walked over to her and sat on the coffee table in front of her. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Hey." She said. "Where's Emmett?" She said.

"Over here!" He said loudly waving his arms at her. She giggled at his stupidity. She sat up and sat across from me, our knees touching. She focused her gaze on mine.

"Thanks for coming guys. I slept better with you guys here." She said. I smiled and patted her hand.

"Don't worry about it. We're always just a phone call away." She nodded. The silence that had settled on us was interrupted by my phone ringing. I glanced at the time, 8 30. I sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello Alice." I said, knowing it would be her.

"Where are you?" She said.

"I'm with Bella and Emmett." I said.

"Are you saying Em is still at Bella's? He never came home. And Jasper said he heard you leave while it was still dark out." She said accusingly.

"Yes Emmett never left Bella's house. And yeah I left around four."

"Rose you do remember that we have a shopping date today?" She said.

"Alice I don't think I'll be going shopping today." At this comment Bella snatched the phone out of my hand.

"Alice it's Bella, she'll be there." And with that she snapped the phone shut.

"I will not stop you two from being with your friends. I'm fine now." She said. Emmett and I both tried to say something but she stopped us. "I don't want to hear it. If this is what's going to happen next time I just won't tell you to. I'm fine now. Go out would you please." She said her voice going from demanding to pleading. I looked at Emmett and after a minute he nodded. I turned back to her.

"Alright Bella." I said standing up and walking over to Emmett pulling him out of the chair he had been on for well over 24 hours. "Promise to call us if you need anything." I said warningly. She nodded and stood up. We walked over to her and hugged her between us, both of us kissing her cheeks at the same time. She giggled as we released her. She walked us to the door and said good bye, closing the door behind us.

I sighed as we walked down the walk, holding hands.

"Don't worry Rose." He said as we stopped at my car and he kissed me. "She'll be okay, we'll help her." I nodded and climbed in. He went to his jeep and climbed in and he followed me to his house. I really hoped he was right. I wanted to help Bella. I wanted to fix her. She was so broken.


	5. Jazz

I sighed as I heard both of their cars pull away. My stomach was churning. That chewy bar really hadn't agreed with me, maybe I'm sick. Or maybe my body has already gotten used to not eating. All of a sudden I felt this pressure building and it was rising up through my chest. I had to open my mouth to let it all out.

I vomited all over the floor. I sighed. Maybe next time I eat I should eat something bland so my stomach won't get upset. I sighed as I went to get a bucket some water and a rag. I had to clean up my mess.

As I got down on my hands and knees my mind wandered to the cut on my arm, I knew Em and Rose had noticed how thin I was, I was not going to let them notice this. I wasn't sure why I had cut myself. I had felt so numb, I needed something to feel alive. Cutting in conjunction with not eating made me feel good, I knew that much. But the cutting thing I wasn't going to let happen too much, at least I hoped not.

Edwards's POV

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about Bella. Emmett had spent all day with her yesterday and he still hadn't come home. And from what I could of Alice yelling at Rose on the phone. Rose had gone to Bella's in the middle of night just like Emmett had the other night. I sighed. I wanted so badly for Bella to trust me. I could see why she trusted Rose and Em. Rose had helped Bella out on the plain and had been very kind to her. And Emmett had become her protcter, especially when it came to Mike Newton. They had both proven themselves to her. How was I going to prove myself to her? Every time I tried to touch her she would get stiff and shy away. But when I would talk to her she would blush and smile. And she said she really liked listening to me play guitar. She had heard me a couple times this week in Biology because Mr. Banner kept giving free periods for some odd reason.

I want to help her so bad it hurts; I think I'm falling for her hard. I think I love her. I know I've only known her a week. But I've never felt this way before. It's so strong. I sighed again and rolled off my bed to my feet. I traipsed down the stairs and flopped onto the couch and clicked on the TV. ESPN yuck. I wrinkled my nose as I changed the channel. I switched it to FUSE music channel.

A couple minutes later Emmett and Rose came walking through the door.

"Hey little bro what's up!?" Said Emmett flopping down beside me. I just stared at him. He needed to shave, and he was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing two days ago, apparently before Bella called him he hadn't bothered to change for bed. Rose sat down on his lap.

"Hey Edward." She said smiling. Rose surprisingly enough was in her pajamas. She looked happy enough, so Bella must be better.

"Hey. How's Bella?" I said. Emmett smiled.

"Why so worried bro?" He said, I rolled my eyes. He laughed. "She's fine dude, don't worry." Alice came walking into the room and froze when she saw Rose.

"ROSALIE JASMINE HALE! WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?" Alice yelled. I turned to Rose.

"Jasmine?" I said. She rolled her eyes and pushed my face, my neck cracked. Ow.

"Well Alice I believe they are called pajamas." Said Rose smirking.

"Oh my god!" Said Alice. "You so need to change before we go shopping!" I rolled my eyes and sighed, poor Rose.

Bella's POV

I sighed as I dumped the water into the sink and put away my cleaning supplies. What was I going to do today? I decided I would just go out. I went up to my room and found my old Dr. martens and pulled them on. I looked in the mirror. I kind of like the leggings, hoodie, boots ensemble. I kind of worked for me. I shook my head and laughed. I examined my reflection once again. My hair need to be brushed. I brushed it out. It was all one length and went to my hips. I need a makeover. I nodded my head that's what I needed. That's what I would do today.

I clomped down the stairs and out the door. I decided to drive out to Port Angeles because I knew there probably wasn't any where good to go in Forks. The drive didn't take very long it was the morning on a Sunday, most people were in church. When I got to Port Angeles I drove around until I found the mall. I walked in and went to the directory. There was a hair cutting place on the second level next to Pac Sun. I walked up there and went in.

"Hi can I help you?" Said a perky girl behind the desk. She was short and had long flaming red hair with black tips.

"Um do you take walk ins?" I asked nervously.

"Sure thing doll I can do your hair right now." She said excitedly, leading me over to a chair. "So what would you like?" She asked. I sat there for a second. I hadn't really thought about it.

"Surprise me." I said smiling at her. She smiled back and nodded. I sat in that chair for a half hour. She was cutting and snipping away. I was a little surprised when she pulled out the hair dye but I just let her have her way. When she was done I was stunned. She had cut my hair into and Emo/Scene look. I had shaggy razored side swept bangs. She had cut the around my face very piecy and shaggy. And coming out of the short piecy layers were long tails of hair. She had left my length only trimming the ends. (You all know what I'm talking about, it's the standard emo/scene girl look.) She had put cotton candy blue streaks in the tails, I smiled. It was an artistic touch I would have never considered on my own. I turned to my stylist.

"So what inspired this look?" I asked. She smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"I don't know I just thought it would fit you. When I looked at you that is what I saw in my head, do you like it?" She asked.

"I love it thank you!" I said.

"Your welcome." She said. I paid and left the salon with a smile on my face. I walked around the mall with my hands tucked into the pouch of my hoodie. I didn't know what to do now. It was only 10 00. I passed Hot Topic and decided to check it out. I was immediately drawn to the skinny pants, they had some cool designs. A worker with a pixie cut and half her head shaved came up to me.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she smiled at me.

"Uh yeah could you help me get those down off the wall?" I asked nervously gesturing to the pants.

"Sure which ones?" She said picking up a long pole with a hook on the end to get them down for me. I pointed out the black and white zebra striped ones, the purple plaid, and the red and black pinstriped ones. "Nice choices." She said as she handed them to me. As she did I noticed she had several piercings. She noticed my scrutiny.

"You would look nice with your nose or lip pierced she said." I blushed and said thanks as I followed her to the cash register. On the way there I saw a black civil war type jacket that was decorated with pins and medals. I picked up my size and went to the register where the worker was waiting. "Oh I love this jacket, very nice choice!" She said happily. She rang me up and I paid. I left this store with a smile as well.

I felt good. I was in a place where no one knew me. I had met two very nice people. Being scared of their touch hadn't even crossed my mind because of how nice and friendly they had been, they made me feel comfortable.

That comfortable feeling quickly left me when I ran into some one. I sprawled on the floor my hair falling in my face.

"Oh I'm sorry! Let me help you!" Said a panicked voice that I recognized. I pushed my hair out of my face and saw it was Mike. When he saw it was me he smirked. "Hey Bella, looking good." He said nastily, eyeing me up and down as I got off the ground. I tried to walk around him but he stopped me, grabbing a hold of arm tight. "There's no Emmett here now Bella, so what do you say we go and have some fun." If it was possible I got even more stiff and scared. My whole body was rigid. I was praying to god that some body would see what was going on and save me. He started pulling me through the mall. I didn't know where he was leading me. I held tight to my shopping bag as he yanked on my arm to make me go faster. My eyes were shooting around us, looking for someone to help me. And then I heard it.

"Hey Mike!" Said a voice with a slight southern drawl. I turned my head to see Jasper, Rosalie's brother. I felt myself smile a little, god had answered my prayers. My smile quickly slipped off my face when Mike pulled me tight to him and placed his hand on my ass.

"Yo Hale what's up?" He said casually. I was shooting Jasper looks that said save me. Please save me. I felt Mike's grip on me tighten and I could help the tear that slid down my face as he pulled on some bruises and cuts on my back that were still healing from Renee, and had been aggravated by my run in with Emmett and Alice at the grocery store. Jasper saw this, and his face erupted in anger. He quickly yanked me out of Mike's grasp and shielded me with his body.

"If I ever see you touch her again Newton you will not only have Emmett to deal with but myself as well." He said, his voice was extremely hard and angry. I was holding on for dear life to the back of his zip up. Mike sneered at him and then glared at me.

"They won't always be around to protect you Isabella." He said ground out as he stalked off. When he was out of sight Jasper turned around to look at me, making me let go of him.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concern painting his features.

"Yes thank you." I said starting to walk away.

"Whoa where are you going Bella?" He said stopping me and standing in my path.

"Home."

"By yourself? No way. I'm not letting you out of my sight with crazy Newton on the lose." I looked down at the floor and when I looked back up at him I had tears streaming down my face. I clutched my shopping tight to my chest and stared at the ground. He placed his finger under my chin and made me look at him.

"He hurt you before. I saw you cry a bit. Bella let me go with you." He pleaded pulling me into a hug. I nodded and he pulled away. He took my bag for me and protectively wrapped his arm around my waist. We walked to my truck and he held his hand out. I looked at him confused. "Keys." He said. I sighed and handed them to him.

"What about your car Jazz?" I said. He looked at me funny.

"Jazz? And I took the bus." He said walking over to the other side and hopping in. I got in too and he pulled out. We sat in silence for a while. "No one really calls me Jazz anymore. My mom calls my Jazzy on occasion but…" he faded off.

"I'm sorry did it bother you?" I asked sadly fiddling with my hands in my lap. His laugh threw me off.

"No not at all, feel free to call me Jazz whenever you want. In fact it can be your name for me; no one else may call me that." He said smiling over at me. I nodded and smiled tentatively back.

"What about me?" I asked coyly. He smiled and sat there for a couple of seconds.

"Can I call you Belly?" He asked. I laughed and nodded. He laughed as well. We drove for a while in a comfortable silence. We finally were in Fork's when he broke the silence. "So where to?" He asked. We could go to my house no one is there. We could go to the Cullen's, Emmett and Edward are playing video games all day while the girls are out, or your house?" He said. I said my house and gave him directions. He was stunned when we pulled up. "Umm Bella? Why are we at Chief Swans' old house, you know he died right?" I nodded as I got out. He followed me and watched confusedly as I pulled out my key and let us in. He followed my in and watched me as I flopped down on the couch. He looked around the room until he saw the pictures on the wall, then I saw the realization cross his face.

"You're the chief's daughter from Arizona." He said, I nodded. He walked over and sat down beside me. He pulled me into a hug and I instantly froze.

"Please Belly trust me." He said, using my new nick name. I relaxed into him and started bawling.

"I miss him so much! It's just not fair!" I cried. I was surprised when I let go. I hadn't even done this with Emmett, told him how I was really feeling. He rubbed my back soothingly, cooing at me softly trying to get me to relax. When I calmed down I pulled away and stared at the floor and zoned.

"Don't do that, Bells!" He said catching me off guard.

"What?" I said confused.

"Don't fold back in on yourself. Please." He pleaded with me. "Talk to me. I know there's more going on with you then you let on." He said. So I was wrong about Jasper. I had thought he was the quiet type not really noticing much around him. But apparently he was ultra observant.

I broke down. I told him everything. About Renee and her beatings and getting drunk. About Phil and how he would try to save me. About meeting Rose on the plain and my feeling of instantly trusting her. Of meeting and Emmett and Alice and feeling so frightened. About Emmett saving me from Newton. Of my nightmare and what went on when Emmett and Rose had been here with me. And of how I was so scared of Mike today.

"Jazz you have no idea. I think he was going to… oh god." I said bawling covering my mouth with my hand.

"Shh Bell shhh." He said pulling me to him again for a tight hug.

"I think he was going to rape me." I said in a small voice. He rubbed my back. I looked up at his face and he looked angry. "Thank you Jazz." I said. He smiled down at me.

"No problem." He said. He tightened his hold on me and frowned.

"What?" I said.

"Belly I can feel your ribs, it feels like you have no belly Belly." He said. I sighed. I told him about my need for control and my not eating and I showed him my cut. He sighed when I was done. He had his head done, his shaggy hair falling into his eyes, covering his face. Then I heard the most heart wrenching sound.

He was crying. He looked up at me.

"Bella this isn't good." He said sobbing. I looked down and nodded, tears pricking my eyes again.

"Bells I'm going to try and never leave your side. You are officially my best friend, and I'm going to stick by you and help you and protect you." He said cupping my face in his hands. I nodded and he hugged me tight again.

We lay on the couch for hours, not talking, and then his phone rang.

"Hi Alice." He said. Why was it always Alice calling?

Jasper's POV

"Jasper where are you, I thought you would be here with Emmett and Edward." She said I could practically hear the pout in her voice.

"I'm with Bella." I said quietly. I looked down at Bella she was staring up at me. I smiled at her.

"What!?" Yelled Alice. I saw Bella flinch. "How is very one becoming friends with her? I want to be friends with her!" Bella smiled a little when she heard Alice say this, she was being very loud.

"I earned her trust today Alice. You have no idea what Newton was going to do to her." I said my voice going hard. Bella buried her head into my chest. And placed my hand on her head, patting her hair.

"What did Newton do?!" She said worriedly. I heard in the back ground Emmett, Edward, and Rose all yelling about Newton and asking questions.

"Don't worry about it. Listen I gotta go, Love you Alice." I said.

"Love you too." She said and hung up. I looked down at Bella again; she had tears in her eyes. I hugged her tight and wiped away her tears. God Bella I'm never going to leave you. You're my new best friend and I'm always going to protect you.

Alice's POV

"What wrong with Bella?" Said Edward. I smirked at him. I knew he had a crush at her.

"Mike Newton messed with her, Jasper saved her. He's with her right now at her house." I said smiling. Rose whipped out her phone and dialed she held it to her ear.

"What are you doing?" Said Emmett.

"Calling Bella… Bells? Honey are you okay? ... Are you sure? ...Em and I can come over there if you want? ... Are you sure? … Okay bye." She said hanging up the phone dejectedly.

"So are we going over there?" Said Emmett.

"No." Said Rose.  
"Why?" Said Emmett pouting.

"Because she said she doesn't want too many people to see her the way she is right now. She said it was bad enough Jasper had to her like she is." Emmett sighed but nodded, going back to his video game.

Edwards's POV

Jasper had saved her. Emmett had saved her. Rose had comforted her. She trusted them. I really needed to figure out how to get her to trust me. But how?

Bella's POV

I sighed as I snuggled into Jasper as we watched ESPN.

"Are you sure you want to watch this?" He said.

"Yes, I already explained to you about Charlie." I said. He nodded and let it go.

"Hey Bella how about we eat something?" He said.

"You can." I said, not moving my gaze from the screen. He sighed.

"Bella." He said, letting a warning hang in the air. I sighed too and nodded. He clicked off the TV and led me into the kitchen. He sat me down at the table.

"So what would you like?" He said. I raised my eye brow.

"You cook?" I said. He nodded. I sighed.

"I don't know. You pick." I said.

"Tacos it is!" He said excitedly.

"Favorite food?" I asked.

"Absolutely!" He said pulling out all the necessary ingredients. We ate tacos, yum… not. My stomach was churning badly. I kept pushing down the pressure I was feeling. The pressure I had felt this morning before I vomited.

"It's getting late Jazz." I said looking at the clock. It was coming up on 10 00 at night.

"Do you want me to leave?" He said sadly.

"No." I said. I walked over to the recliner and sat down in it. Wrapping myself in Charlie's blanket. He picked me up and sat down placing me in his lap. He put up the foot rest and turned out the light. Letting the glow of ESPN fall on us. "You're staying?" I asked. He nodded. "And we're sleeping here?" I asked. He looked down at me.

"You told me this is where you sleep, so yes we are staying here." He said smiling. I nodded and buried my head into his chest. My eyes closed and I started to drift off to sleep. I was so lucky and grateful to have Jazz as a best friend.

Jasper's POV

I watched her as she fell asleep and her breath evened out.

"Isabella Swan what am I going to do with you?" I said out loud. I settled down into the seat and closed my eyes and fell asleep to the sounds of football.


	6. Best Friend

I awoke all of a sudden sitting up abruptly. I heard a grunt beneath me.

"Bella?" Jasper said. I jetted off of him and ran up the stairs to the bathroom. When I reached the toilet I let the building pressure I had been feeling out. I felt some one pull my hair out of the way as I let my stomach empty itself. I slumped back on the floor, leaning against the tub. "Belly, are you okay?" He said. I nodded. He sighed. "Do you think it was the tacos?" He asked concerned. Instead of telling him body didn't like food I just nodded. He picked me up and took me to my room and laid me down on the bed. He sat down beside me and pushed my hair off my face. We stayed there in silence until I glanced at the clock. I sat up.

"Crap school! Jazz its 10 00!" He pushed me back down.

"Don't worry about it." He said kindly. I laid there for a while just staring at the ceiling. "What do you want to do?" He said. I sighed and shrugged. He smiled. "Get dressed." He said. I nodded and he left to the living room. I got up and brushed out my hair. I loved my make over. I smiled at myself.

I pulled on my new pair of plaid skinny pants, a grey clash T shirt and my new civil war jacket. I pulled on my converse and then went down stairs. I walked into the living room to see him waiting for me. He pulled me outside to my truck. He held his hands out for the keys. I sighed but handed them to him. As we drove I was confused.

"Where are we going Jasper?" I said looking at him.

"The mall, I want one of those jackets." He said pointing to mine. I laughed.

"Why?" I said.

"I love the civil war. Besides they can be like our best friend jackets or something!" He said smiling at me. I nodded, I liked the idea. He was a real sweet heart. When we got to the mall we walked arm and arm to Hot Topic. We quickly bought his jacket and left, we didn't want a truant officer or the mall cop to stop us. We ran to my truck and we drove off quickly. I was laughing hard, holding my aching sides.

"You're crazy dude." I said calming down. He threw me a big toothy grin which just made me laugh more. We drove away from Port Angeles and back towards Forks. But we weren't heading towards my house. We were heading in the opposite direction. "Now where are we going?" I said.

"My house." He said. I immediately stiffened up. He saw this and grabbed my hand. "Don't worry no one's home. Rose is at school and Mom's at work." He said. We sat there for a couple minutes in silence.

"Where's your dad?" I said quietly. He sighed and pulled his hand away and put back on the wheel.

"Bells when Rose and I were born our parents weren't married. We lived in Texas. After we were born my dad kept me and mom moved with Rose back to her home in Michigan. For about ten years it was like that. But then dad and I were in a car accident. A drunk driver hit us. Dad died. So I had to go and live with mom and Rose. Mom decided to move here to give us all a fresh start." He said quietly. I unbuckled my seat belt and moved over to the middle. I laid my head on his shoulder.

"We're two pees in a pod aren't we…? No dads." I said. He laughed and nodded.

"Yeah Bell we are." He said as he pulled up to a story house. We got out of my truck and went in. It wasn't too big but it wasn't too small. It looked homey and lived in. "Come on my rooms in the attic." He led me up to the attic which didn't really look like an attic. It had dark blue walls, and a black carpet. The furniture was a dark wood. He had band posters all over the walls, and in one corner were a couple of guitars. I walked over to them.

"You play?" I said. He nodded.

"Yeah I'm the one that got Edward into it. His first instrument was actually the piano." He said. I nodded. He flopped on his bed and gestured for me to join him. We laid beside each other just staring at the ceiling. "Hey." He said.

"Hey what?" I said back.

"Why don't you trust Alice and Edward?" He asked turning onto his side to look at me. I sighed and threw my arm over my eyes.

"I want to trust them but I can't. I like Edward… a lot. But I'm weary of him. I mean it's not just him I was weary of you and Emmett. And Alice… she scares me." He laughed at this. I uncovered my eyes and looked at him. He stopped laughing when he noticed my serous expression. He sat up and I mimicked him, facing each other our knees touching.

"Your serious?" He said. I nodded. "Why?" He asked.

"She is to loud and in your face. She likes to grab people and hug them and invade their personal space. I've noticed she likes to get into other people's business. And I know she means well but all of that just clashes with what I feel. She literally scares the shit out of me Jazz." He sat there and stared at me after a couple minutes he said something.

"I understand Bella. I know you don't like to be touched. And I know Alice get's over excited and yells and screams in people's faces sometimes. She has some issues with controlling her voice volume. She's very enthusiastic. I can see how the loud and yelling would scare you what with Renee always yelling at you and man handling and beating you. Just give her a chance." He said patting me knee. I stiffened and pulled away. He looked confused and hurt. "I thought we were passed this Bella." He said reaching out to me.

"You're asking me to give her a chance because she's your girl friend. But I can't I need her to… I don't know." A look of realization passed over his face.

"I know what the problem is. You need her to prove herself, so that you can trust her. That's what you need her and Edward to do." He said.

"I don't know Jazz." I said standing up. I heard him get up and turn me around to look at him.

"No I think that's right. Rose, Emmett, and I have all done something to prove that you can trust us. Bella its okay, there's nothing wrong with wanting this." He said hugging me. I nodded, I guess he was right.

The next couple hours we just hung out in his room. I fell asleep on his bed once or twice. When I would look up he would be on the computer or quietly strumming his guitar. When I woke up again he was laying beside me his eyes closed and his breathing even. He had fallen asleep too.

I glanced at his alarm clock. It was around 3 30. School was out. His phone started ringing and he stirred. He rolled over and picked it up off his night stand. He lay back on his back and held an arm out to me as he laid back. He answered it as I leaned into his side.

"Hello?" He said.

"Jasper it's Alice, why weren't you in school today?" She said.

"Bella got sick this morning I was taking care of her." There was silence for a couple of minutes.

"Aww Jazz that's sweet. But don't forget tonight is movie night! Okay?" She said. He shot me a look.

"Okay Alice Love you." He said hanging up. "So Bella…" he started.

"Don't even ask. I'm not going. I'd rather stay home." He sighed but nodded. We stayed in his room until six and then he had to leave.

"Bells could you drive me, my bikes in the shop." I nodded. We drove in silence except for him giving me directions. When we pulled up I was a little surprised but didn't show it. Their house was a huge white three story. It was beautiful. "Are you sure you don't want to come in?" He asked.

"No." I said. He sighed and nodded. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek. When we pulled apart he hopped out of the truck and went into the house. I started to pull away. As I did I saw Emmett burst out of the house, yelling my name. I waved to him but kept driving. He tried running after my truck but I sped up and left him behind. I knew he was going to try to make me stay. I drove as fast as I could to my house. When I got there I showered and pulled on some of Charlie's clothes and snuggled into his recliner for a night with ESPN.

I pulled his shirt up to my nose and sniffed. It had his scent still fresh on it. I started crying. I got up in a trance and went up to the bathroom. I pulled out the razor from the other day and pulled it across my skin a couple times only stopping to switch arms. When I was done I dropped to the floor and sobbed until I fell asleep.

Jasper's POV

I walked into the house and into the living room.

"Hey guys." I said. I could hear Bella's monster truck pulling away. Emmett did too, he ran out of the house yelling her name. I watched as she drove away. She knew if she stopped Emmett would somehow convince her to stay.

Alice walked over to me and kissed me. She smiled up at me.

"I missed you." She said. I smiled back at her.

"Me too." I said hugging her tight. Rose came over to me too.

"How is she?" She asked.

"I think she's fine. She was in a pretty good mood when I left her, and she hasn't really felt sick." I said referring to Bella's vomiting. Rose nodded.

"Good." She said walking over to Emmett and sitting down. We all settled down and started watching the movie. But I couldn't focus. I had a really bad feeling. I needed to see Bella. I got up and went into the bathroom and pulled out my phone. I dialed Bella. Maybe I was over reacting. She was probably fine.

The phone rang and rang and rang. She never answered. I called her three more times, still no answer. Now I was panicking. I went to Alice and asked to borrow her car.

"Okay but why?" She said.

"I'll tell you later!" I said bolting out of the house and to her car. As I got in I could hear everyone yelling my name. They were all standing on the porch as I drove away. Alice looked upset.

I sped all the way to Bella's house, going well over the speed limit. I burst into her house using the key I knew she placed under the welcome mat.

"Bella!" I yelled closing the door, placing the key in my pocket. No answer. I ran upstairs. I checked her room, she wasn't there. I ran into Charlie's room, she wasn't there. I ran to the bathroom. The door was shut and the light was on. I opened the door and broke down at what I saw.

Bella on the floor blood everywhere. I ran to her.

"Bella!?" I said, tears streaming down my face. Her fluttered open.

"Hey, what's up?" She said weakly.

"How can you say that?" I said. She shrugged. I sighed I knew she had done this. I sat her up and pulled her first aid kit out of the medicine cabinet. I slowly started to bandage her up, not saying a word. When I was done I stood up pulling her with me. I carried her into her room. "Change your clothes and then come down stairs." I said walking out of her room.

Bella's POV

I sighed and lay there on my bed for a couple of minutes before doing what I was told. I pulled on a pair of black sweat pants and my white hoodie. I walked down stairs slowly, dreading what Jasper had to say.

When I walked into the living room he had his head resting in his hands and his shoulders were shaking.

"Jazz?" I said quietly. He looked up at me and I ran to him. He was sobbing.

"Why?" He said clutching me. "I told you I would be there for you. You don't need to do this. What happened after you dropped me off?" He cried. I sighed.

"I'm sorry the thoughts of Charlie just took over. He sighed but stifled his cries.

"What am I going to do with you Isabella?" He said looking at me.

Jazz and I decided to take the rest of the week off from school. I knew it was only my second week in Forks but I didn't care. Jazz stuck with me, barely leaving my house. He would talk to Alice and the others over the phone but that was it. We got to know each other well over the week. He was seriously my best friend.

He pleaded with me to eat and to stop cutting but I couldn't and wouldn't. He knew he couldn't force me. And I made him promise not to tell Rose and Emmett.

"Bella?" He said Sunday night. We had decided we would go to school the next day.

"Yeah?" I said.

"You know I love you right? You're my bestfriend."

"I know." I said smiling.

"Good."


	7. Moving in

I woke up before Jazz. He was asleep on the couch while I was on Charlie's chair. We were going back to school today. My mind drifted into thought. I didn't have to be at school for another two ours.

Last night Jazz's mom had called. She wanted him home. He told her he wasn't coming home yet. They got into this big argument, she kicked him out.

He lives with me now. As my roommate, brother, and best friend. He moved all of his things into Charlie's old room. He asked me a million times if I was sure that was okay. I told him it was. We moved Charlie's things down to the basement. I gave Jasper the extra key that I usually put under the door mat. It was official. He lived here now.

I didn't realize how long I had been thinking because next thing I knew Jasper was hovering over me.

"Bella are you alright?" He asked nervously. I made my eyes focus and smiled at him.

"I'm fine." I slowly sat up and he leaned back.

"We have to be at school in half an hour okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said getting up and walking up stairs to my bed room. I got dressed, pulling on black skinny jeans, a white v neck t shirt over a black long sleeve, my Samba Adidas shoes, and my civil war jacket. I brushed my hair and straightened it. And then put on some eye liner. Simple yet still completely me.

I walked down stairs and sat on the couch waiting for Jasper. He was still getting ready. My arms… They had cuts on them, new and old. If I took off my jacket I still had my long sleeve as cover. Eating… Jazz thought I had been eating. But really I was hiding it, throwing up, and tricking him. Making it look like I had eaten.

He came tromping down the stairs at that moment. He was wearing skinny jeans with a studded belt, a black Angry Beavers t shirt, black converse, and his civil war jacket.

"Ready to go?" He said holding out my back pack to me. I nodded and went over to him. I smiled when I saw the pocket of his jacket. Earlier last week we had sewn our name into them, _J.W. Hale _and_ I.M. Swan_. We got a kick out of mine. It's like saying "I am swan." It's funny.

As we walked out the door Jasper handed me a granola bar and water bottle and looked at me pointedly. I sighed and nodded as I walked off to my car and he to his. He had gotten it from the shop a couple of days ago. He pulled out before me. I un wrapped the bar once I was in the car. I drove a little ways down the street and then threw the bar out the window. I opened the bottle and took a sip, holding onto the steering wheel and bar wrapper in my other hand. I pulled into my regular parking spot, far away from Jasper and the rest. As I got out I clamped the bottle and wrapper in one hand and swung my back pack onto my back with the other. I started walking to the building not looking at the others. I heard steps running up to me, I turned to see Emmett.

"Bella!" He cried swooping me up into a hug, lifting me off the ground. The others came over and stood around us. I dropped my water and the wrapper. Jasper bent down to pick them up, smiling as he saw the empty wrapper. Good, I had gotten him again.

"Emmett let her down!" Said Rosalie. Emmett put me back on the ground and then Rose came at me. She held me tight to her. I hugged her back just as tight. When she let go she smiled at me and I smiled back. Then Alice freaked.

"Oh my god! Jasper you and Bella have the same jackets?" She said crossing her arms over her chest with a slightly confused look. Jasper and I looked at each other and then shrugged.

"Yeah we do." He said. I nodded and then waved to him and walked off. I speed walked to class. I could hear Jasper calling my name but I kept walking. I didn't want to be near Alice. She seemed upset by the fact that Jasper and I shared these jackets. Edward had been completely silent. I wonder what he thought.

Alice's POV

"Bella! Belly come back here!" Jasper called. I raised my eye brow.

"Belly?" I asked. I was starting to get upset. First matching jackets with their names on them and now nick names. Jasper turned to look at me, giving up on calling Bella back to us.

"Yeah. I call her Belly and she calls me Jazz." He said smiling. I frowned, his smile dropped. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"What the hell Jasper. Are you forgetting that I'm your girl friend not her? You have matching jackets and nick names, your suddenly best friends with Bella Swan. Who is a girl who chooses to completely ignore me! You have spent every waking moment with her for the past week, I've only been able to talk on the phone with you! Why don't you just move in with her!?" I said getting angry fast. He looked down at his shoes and scuffed the ground with them. No way!

"No way!" I said aloud shocked. Rose walked over to her brother and laced her arm around his waist and hugged him. "Why would you do that!? If you were going to move in with someone it should be with me and my family! What is wrong with you!?" At this Rose's head snapped up, she was pissed. She let go of Jasper and walked up to me. Since she was taller she was looking down her nose at me.

"Shut the fuck up Alice! You don't know what you're talking about! A couple days ago mom kicked Jasper out. He moved in with Bella because, yeah they are best friends. And Bella is kind and caring and loving, she would help anyone else before she helped herself. If you think she has a vendetta against you your wrong. And besides a lot of people live in your house. Bella lives by herself. Her dad, you know, Chief Swan died!" And with that Rose grabbed Emmett and stalked off. Edward kept his head down and walked away too. It was just me and Jasper. He looked up at me and walked closer to me, grabbing my hand.

"Listen Alice I love you. There's no need to be jealous. If I've told you that once I've told you that a million times. Bella has her reasons for not wanting to get close to you, or Edward for that matter. You need to earn her trust. She's had a really rough life. Give her a break."

"Oh you mean like your old life, that kind of life." I said spitefully, ripping my hands away from him. He looked like I had slapped him, I instantly felt bad. "Jasper I'm sorry I…" But he cut me off. He put his hand up to stop me.

"You promised you wouldn't talk about that. What is wrong with you?" He said starting to get angry too. "If you want to be Bella's friend I'll try convincing her to come around to your house with me. But just back off Alice! Not everyone has to be your best friend! And if you're going to act like this maybe we shouldn't be together." He said staring coldly at me. I just stared back, to stunned to say anything. He started to walk away but then stopped and turned to say something.

"And yeah my old life is exactly the kind of life I was talking about." He said, stomping off to his first class. I couldn't believe this.

_Later at Lunch_

"And he just left? Just like that?" Said Rose. I nodded. I had just got done telling her and the others what had happened after they all left.

"Wow." Said Emmett, turning to look over at Jasper, who was sitting across the cafeteria with Bella. I nodded again. I didn't know what to say. My boy friend had broken up with me, and it was definitely my fault.

"Do you still want to be Bella's friend?" Said Edward quietly. I nodded. Rose picked up her phone and started texting. A couple minutes later Jasper walked over to us.

"What Rose?" He said, turning his body away from me.

"Bring Bella around tonight. Alice still wants to try to get to know her. And so does Edward." She said.

"I don't think that's going to happen." Said Jasper. I frowned.

"Jasper! Just because."  
"Stop Rose. Me and Alice breaking up has nothing to do with it. Bella…" He trailed off looking away from Rose. Rose's expression turned worried.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"She's not ready. She told me that earlier. We're leaving in a couple minutes any way. She had a panick attack last period in the nurses office." He said, lowering his voice. Before any of us could say anything he looked over at Bella and rushed over to her. We followed his gaze. She had her head down and we could see from here she was shaking. He put his book bag on grabbed her bag and Bella herself and speeded her out of the cafeteria. We all got up and followed quickly out of the school. We got there in time to see Jasper putting Bella in his car. He jogged over to Rose and handed her some keys.

"Do me a favor and drive her truck home after school?" He said quickly. Rose nodded and he ran off. He sped out of the parking lot, tires squealing.


	8. Hospital

**Hey everybody. I know it's been a while. A lot of you may remember when I said my dad was really sick, that he had cancer. Well he died three weeks ago. I've wanted to update for a long time. I just haven't been motivated. So forgive me if it sucks.**

………………………………………………………………………………………

I sped out of the school parking lot. Bella had passed out beside me in the passenger seat. I was taking her to the hospital. I knew what would happen if I took her there. And I know I promised her I wouldn't let anyone know about her problems. But this was serious.

I pulled up to the hospital and parked. I quickly ran around to her side and picked her up and ran through the doors of the hospital. I ran up the front desk to a surprised looking nurse.

"Help please! I need Dr. Cullen it's urgent!" I yelled. She nodded and paged him. He came running out to me.

"Jasper! What's wrong!?" He sounded panicked.

"Help her!" I yelled. He nodded and led me through the hall ways to a room with nurses waiting. I explained on the way that she had passed out at school and had had an anxiety attack earlier in the day. They quickly checked her over and hooked her up to an IV. About fifteen minutes later Carlisle came over to me frowning.

"Jasper I think you have some explaining to do." I sighed but nodded.

"What do you want to know?" I said.

"She is seriously under weight. And there are cuts and scarring all over her. And who is she Jasper?" He said folding his arms in a serious fatherly fashion. I sighed again and looked down at the ground, jamming my hands into my pockets.

"She's Chief Swan's daughter." I said looking up. He looked stunned. He looked from her to me and back to her. He looked sad.

"I'm the one that called her mother and told her that Charlie had died. I'm the one in charge of his estate. I was supposed to talk to her when she got here. But I didn't even know she was here. Her mother had said she would let her know." He said. I nodded. Her mother obviously had not told her she needed to check in with Carlisle.

"When Bella's mom told her that Charlie had died and that everything was left to her she kicked her out. Bella has been living alone until recently." I said.

"Until recently?" He asked. I nodded.

"My mom kicked me out. And since Bella has become my best friend she offered me a place to stay." I said quietly.

"Why didn't you come to us when your mom kicked you out?" he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder in a fatherly fashion.

"Bella needs me, besides there are way too many people in your house." I said smiling. He smiled back. But then it fell.

"What is wrong with Bella Jasper."

"She's been starving herself and cutting herself. She can't handle Charlie's death. And…" I broke off looking at the ground again.

"Jasper?" He asked. I looked up with tears in my eyes.

"Her mom is an alcoholic. She's been beating Bella for years. The only reason she is still alive and not murdered is because of her step dad Phil, he would get Renee to back off." I said, wiping the tears away.

"Thank you for telling me Jasper." He said as he walked out of the room. The nurses followed him. I was left alone with an unconscious Bella.

"She's going to hate me when she wakes up." I said.


	9. Stare

**Hey everyone. I'm running out of ideas. So if you want to help me out… send me your ideas. And the one I use I will name in the next chapter and give them credit for the idea. And before you all start reading I would like to warn you all. I'm putting Kristi in this story. She's not related to the Cullen's in any way shape or form.**

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I couldn't believe this. I was sitting in the hospital with Bella, watching her chest move up and down. The only way I knew she was alive and real, that I was real. She was going to hate me when she woke up. I promised I would never tell. But here we are. I broke that promise.

But she did too. She said she would start eating again and try to stop cutting. She tricked me. She tricked me into thinking she was eating again, empty wrappers and dishes in the sink. How could I have been so stupid? I knew she hadn't stopped cutting completely, but I had at least thought she had been cutting down, no pun intended, on cutting herself. She really had me fooled. Does she even trust me to help her? She obviously doesn't trust me enough that she feels she has to lie to me.

I've been sitting here for hours. The sun went down a long time ago. I've just been sitting and staring at her. At Bella. My phone has ringed a couple of times, but I just ignore it until it stops. Then I look to see who it was. Rose, Emmett, Alice. Carlisle came into the room a couple times too. Once or twice to check on Bella. The last time he came in to talk to me. He asked if I wanted anything to eat. I shook my head no, still looking at Bella. He asked if I knew she wasn't going anywhere. I nodded my head yes, still looking at Bella. He sighed and said Alice and the others had been calling him trying to get a hold of me. He asked if I wanted them to come in. He said that seeing as Bella's father was dead and her mother had kicked her out, I was in a way Bella's voice until she woke up, making decisions for her. I told him that I understood I was Bella's voice. And that I didn't want the others to come in. He nodded and left me alone. The whole time he was in the room I never took my eyes off of Bella.

I glanced away from Bella for the first time in hours to see what time it was, 10 30 at night. I sighed. My phone started to ring. I was just about to press ignore when I caught sight of the caller ID. It was flashing a name I hadn't seen on the screen in a while.

_Kristi_


	10. Guardian

**Hey everybody I now have a website, check it out. I'm going to start posting fanfics there as well. .com/**

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I just stare at the screen as the phone keeps ringing. What could Kristi want? I slowly hit the answer button and hold the phone to my ear.

"Jasper?" Said a raspy girl voice.

"Kristi?" I sake quietly.

"Hey kid, what's up?" She said.

"Umm nothing." I said, my gaze drifting back to Bella.

"Don't lie to me. I'm on my way to the Forks hospital right now." She said. I sat up straight.

"What?" I said confused.

"Rose called me Jasper. She told me about this Bella girl. Are you sure it's wise to get mixed up with her?" She asked. I felt myself getting kind of angry. I knew she was just looking out for me. If Rosalie told her everything then Kristi would know how similar Bella and I really were. I just sat there not answering her. "Jasper. I'm sorry. Rose told me you're living with her now and that she's become your best friend." She said.

"Yeah." I said. She sighed.

"Listen, I'm outside the hospital I'll see you in a few." Click.

I sat there for what felt like hours waiting for her to get the room, even though I knew it had only been minutes when she walked into Bella's room with Carlisle. He was talking to her softly, filling her in. I watched out of my peripheral vision as Kristi nodded her head and shook his hand. He left the room as she came up to me. She placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Jasper." She said in her raspy voice that sort of reminded me of Kat Von D. Kristi kind of looked like her too. She said my name again. "Jasper?" I got up abruptly and turned to her and flung my arms around her neck. She wound her arms around my waist and held me tight as I started to cry for Bella. She rubbed my back and made hushing cooing noises in my ear. She pulled away a little bit and sat down in my chair holding her arms out to me. I gave her a small smile as I sat down on her lap, and wrapped my arm around her neck. She laced her arms around my waist and we both just sat there, watching Bella.

Some people might think this was weird. But it wasn't.

Kristi and I had known each other since we were very young. Back in Texas we had been neighbors. We met when her family moved in next door to me and my dad. I was five, she was six. After we met we were inseparable. Even when we started school, we were in different grades, and she still hung out with me. I never could figure out why. She was so cool, and I wasn't. I was that out cast, the kid in the corner who never spoke to anyone, who never had friends. She was my only friend in Texas. She was the only one who knew about my situation with my dad. I couldn't figure out how she understood it so well, until I found out she was just like me.

"Jasper what are you thinking about?" She said quietly, squeezing my slightly.

"Nothing." I said. She laughed which turned into a cough from all the cigarettes she smoked. "I thought you were going to quit smoking." I said looking at her. She smiled up at me.

"I did, and then I started again. You know me. I can't quit for too long." She said. I rolled my eyes. We sat in silence for a little while before I spoke up.

"What did Carlisle tell you?" I asked. She sighed and looked sadly at Bella.

"He was telling me he thought she should be sent to a clinic, an in- patient program." I froze and shook my head. She nodded. "I know. That's what my reaction was. I convinced him to release her into my care." I just stared at her stunned. And then I narrowed my eyes at her.

"How can you take care of someone when you can't even take care of yourself?" I said looking down at her with my eye brow raised. She sighed and looked at me.

"Jasper I've changed a lot since we last saw each other." I raised both eye brows. "I'll tell you later I don't want to talk about it right now." She said quietly. "Point is I'm in charge of Bella now. She's not 18, she needs a guardian. Carlisle called her mother and she has relinquished guardian ship to me."

"But Kristi your only 19." I said. She shrugged.

"Carlisle knows I can help her. And now Bella's mother has no say in what she does." She pointed out. I nodded. This was good. It would appear that Bella was now out of Renee's control. I wonder how her step dad was taking this. We fell into silence again.

Kristi is Bella's guardian? She doesn't even know Bella. But she and Carlisle are right. Kristi can help her. I sat there staring at Bella, seeing without really seeing. My mind drifted back to me and Kristi in Texas.

My dad was not the nicest person in the world. Neither was Kristi's mom. It got worse when they realized that they had a lot in common. Our parent's liked to get drunk together. And while they were drunk they would share stories about my mom and Kristi's dad. Then they would get really angry and turn it on us. You can guess what they would do to us. Kristi and I spent a lot of time in the Houston ER. After they would finish with us they would go up to my dad's bed room and have what they called "fun." As Kristi and I got older we started hanging out more and more, and staying at home less and less. By the time I was nine and she was ten we were practically living on the streets. We were taken in by a gang, who used our broken innocence to their advantage. They had us trafficking and using drugs at that young age. They had us drinking and partying with adults. But they had that family factor we both so longed for. But just after my tenth birthday we left. Kristi was eleven when the gang decided to…well they started pimping her out. We knew this had gone too far. We ran away from the gang. We went back to our parent's houses in Huston to find our parents living together in a drunken stupor. That's when Kristi started cutting herself and stopped eating. I tired helping her. Just before my eleventh birthday our parents went driving, drunk, with me in the back, Kristi had run away again. Surprisingly they didn't crash the car, but I guess drunks attract drunks because we were hit by another drunk driver. My dad and Kristi's mom died. I almost did. I was asleep for a long time.

When I woke up Kristi, my mom, and Rose were standing over me. Kristi was crying holding onto my hand. Rose and mom looked confused as to who she was.

After that things went by in a blur. Kristi and I were separated. My mom took me back to Michigan and then ultimately Fork's. Kristi was put through the system. Going from foster family to foster family. I had begged my mom to help Kristi, she wasn't getting the help she needed in these families. But she kept saying she couldn't afford another child. Kristi and I obviously stayed in contact.

When me and my family got to Forks my mom put me in therapy. She was seriously worried about me. I never talked, except to beg for help for Kristi. Then one day Kristi stopped calling me. And I got worse. That's when some of my more serious problems started.

"Jasper." I was broken out of my thoughts. Kristi was talking to me. "Jasper she's waking up." She said. I focused my gaze on Bella. She was moving around. And then her eyes opened, and her eyes zeroed on me and Kristi. I was still sitting on Kristi.

"Jasper?" She asked. She sounded like her voice hadn't been used for a long time even though it had only been… I'm not even sure how long we have been here. I lost track of time. I cleared my throat.

"Bella this is Kristi, your new guardian."


	11. Discharged

"What?" She said. I knew she would be confused. Kristi and I explained what had been happening since Bella passed out. She was quiet for a while after that. "Jasper." She said looking at me.

"I'm sorry Bella I know I promised." I said dejectedly she surprised me when she smiled.

"No I'm sorry Jazz, I shouldn't have made you promise." She said. I smiled and took her hand in mine and kissed her knuckles.

"Awwwww." Said Kristi. We all started laughing when Carlisle came in.

"Ah Bella it's good to see you're awake. I expect Jasper and Kristi explained what is going on." Bella nodded. "Good. Um Bella there are some people here to see you."

"Who?" She said. I could see her stiffen up.

"Rose, Emmett, Alice, and Edward. Do you want to see them?" He asked worried.

"Just Rose and Emmett." She said quietly turning her head away from us. Carlisle nodded and went out to the hall way where the others must have been waiting. I heard him tell them Bella only wanted to see Rose and Emmett. And then it started.

"But Carlisle!" Whined Alice. When Kristi heard Alice's voice she stiffened up. Kristi and Alice did not get along.

Kristi pushed me lightly, silently telling me to get off her lap. She then walked out to the hall. This could not be good. I turned to look at Bella who had a confused look on her face.

"Kristi and Alice don't get a long." I said quietly. She raised her eyebrows. We both were quiet and listened to what was being said outside.

"Hey Emmett, Rose, Bella's awake if you wanna go see her." Kristi said.

"Yay Bella!" Yelled out Emmett. He ran into the room and over to us. "Dude the shit is about to hit the fan." He mumbled to us.

"What are you doing here!?" Said Alice.

"I called her." Said Rose.

"What!?" Yelled Alice. I rolled my eyes.

"Listen Alice. I knew Kristi was in Seattle." She was in Seattle and didn't call me? What the heck? "And I knew she could really help Bella so I called her."

"Yeah Alice so butt out." Kristi said quietly. Emmett stifled a laugh.

"Man I love that girl." He murmured as he sat down on Bella's bed and held her hand. Bella looked worried.

"Don't you tell me to butt out, Kristi! You don't even know Bella!" She said angrily.

"Neither do you. Listen Alice, she doesn't want to see you or Edward! Sorry Edward." Kristi murmured. She always did have a soft spot for Edward.

"It's alright Kristi." He said back.

"How can you be okay with this Edward!? You're the one with a crush on Bella!" My heart sank at her words, and I'm not sure why. "How can you be okay with Kristi being here with Bella when she doesn't even know her!?" Oh no here it comes.

"Alice I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Sorry Edward you should probably got with her.

"Sure." He said.

"What!? Hell no! Who do you think you are bossing me and telling me to leave?" Alice was really angry now. I stifled a smile; I knew what Kristi was going to tell her.

"Bella's guardian Alice. That's who. I have the legal rights to tell you to leave." And with that Kristi came into the room, Rose in tow. She closed the door behind her. I could see Alice looking into the room furiously with Edward trying to tug her away. Kristi walked up to me and plopped down on my lap.

"I don't understand how you can date her." She moaned. Emmett laughed.

"I'm not, we broke up." Kristi perked up at this.

"Finally! I'm glad. She freaking hates me Jasper." Kristi said.

"Why does Alice hate Kristi?" Said Bella. We all turned to look at her. Rose smiled.

"Because sweetie Alice is jealous of Jaspers relationship with Kristi, they grew up together; they know everything about each other. Kristi is one of Jasper's best friends. She knows things about him no one else does. So whenever Kristi would come up to Washington to visit Jasper Alice would give her the cold shoulder and even start fights with her." Said Rosalie. Bella nodded her head and then turned to Kristi.

"You're moving in with me and Jasper right?" She said. Kristi raised an eye brow at her, but then she smiled.

"Um duh Bella." Was all she said. Bella laughed at her. Kristi's smile widened at the sound.

"Kristi?" Said Bella quietly, looking at her hands, she seemed embarrassed for some reason.

"Yeah sweetie." Said Kristi as she reached over to Bella with her hand and pulled up on Bella's chin so she would look at her. Kristi was already falling into the older sister routine she had long since fallen into with me.

"Um…Rose said you know everything about Jasper. I was wondering if you would tell me about you know…your past." She said quietly. I knew I had dropped hints and alluded to my past before but I had never felt totally comfortable loading Bella down with all that information. She had enough to deal with.

"Bella that is a conversation for another time and another place." Kristi said softly but sternly. I watched Bella nod sadly and look down. "But I will tell you. Just not now." This made Bella look up and smile.

"So…Are you okay Bella?" Said Emmett grabbing her hands and giving her a goofy smile. I laughed at him and Bella giggled. She nodded her head.

"I am…or rather I will be." She said glancing at me and Kristi. Rose smiled at Bella.

"Bella you scared the shit out of us, pardon my French." Said Rose, turning a little red. I never thought I would see the day she did that.

"I'm sorry. I have a lot of…stuff I have to work through. But that's what Kristi is here to help me do." She said. Rose shot Kristi a look. A very familiar look at that because it was the look I gave her when she said she was no Bella's guardian. One that said, how can help Bella when you can't even help yourself. But I didn't understand this look coming from Rosalie. After all she was the one who called Kristi. I saw Kristi stick her tongue out at Rose and Rose's expression instantly change to trust. Bella was laughing at them again. But then she got really quiet. I reached for her hand and squeezed it. She looked at me.

"Bell, are you okay?" I asked. My question, although the same as Emmett's, asked a lot more. She sighed.

"Yeah it's just… when can I get out of here!?" She practically yelled. She sighed loudly and we all laughed at her. Apparently Bella did not like hospitals. Kristi stood up from where she was sitting on my lap.

"I'll go talk to Carlisle about that." She said, walking out of the room dragging Emmett and Rose with her. When they were gone I scooted my chair closer to her bed and picked up her hand again and stroked it quietly. Her other hand came to rest on top of mine, stopping my ministrations.

"I am okay Jazz." She said quietly. I picked my eyes up to look at her skeptically.

"Yeah it's a little hard to believe that when that's what you've been saying all along to me. While you were also saying you were eating and were working on stopping cutting." I said a little accusatorily. She frowned at me. I could tell she was thinking hard about what to say to me. I reached out and smoothed the crease that had formed on her brow. She relaxed under my touch and sighed.

"I'm sorry Jasper. I know it wasn't fare to you. I was only thinking of what I wanted to do, and if that meant deceiving you then I was going to do it. I'm sorry. Hopefully Kristi can help me." I nodded. I knew Kristi could help Bella. She had been where she Bella was right now a million times over. I can remember in the years past Kristi had been in and out of clinics and mental health facilities as often as I had begged my mother to take her in. Which was a lot.

"Bella I can't tell you Kristi's story that's her job. And with her story comes mine. But what I can tell you is she will be able to help you." I said as I gave her hand a squeeze. Which she quickly returned.

A couple minutes later Kristi came in by herself holding some papers.

"Okay Bella all set. We can go." She said walking over to the bed. Bella smiled and sat up as a nurse came in to un hook her from the heart monitor and IV. Kristi handed her some clothes that Rosalie had brought her and Bella went into the bathroom to change. I was left alone with Kristi. She sat down on the bed in front of me and took my hands. We sat there looking at each other before she leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I closed my head savoring the feeling of love she was trying to send me. She really was my best friend and older sister. When she pulled away she whispered to me something that shocked me.

"So you love her huh?" She asked. I looked up at her stunned. She was smiling.

"I don't know." I stuttered. She laughed quietly at me.

"Yeah I think you do know, but I'll be here when you're ready to tell me." She said. I smiled up at her as she leaned forward and kissed my forehead again. And then we heard something outside the door. I wasn't Bella she was still in the bathroom. Kristi looked up and stiffened. I turned to see what had her al worked up and froze. It was Alice with Edward. Behind them I could see Emmett and Rose shooting us guilty looks. Oh god. As Emmett had said earlier the shit was about to hit the fan.


	12. Authors Note

**You're all retarded if you think this is my way of setting up a Jasper Bella story. Just keep reading. I do want to do a Jasper Bella story but this is not it. I would not leave Edward in the dust in this story. But I will not let Jasper get back with Alice. But they will be friends. And Alice and Bella will eventually be friends too. You all just need to chill and keep reading! Sorry for this authors note I hate them too.**


	13. Beginning

Alice was looking murderous seeing me and Kristi together like this. She was about to say something when the bathroom door opened and Bella walked out. She was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and grey sweat pants and her addidas. I felt a warm feeling in my chest when I looked at her. Kristi was right I did love her. But not in the way Kristi seemed to think. Bella was my best friend, besides Kristi. She was my sister as well. That's the kind of love I had for her. We were all looking at Bella. She looked a little uncomfortable under our gazes. Sensing this Kristi walked over to her.

"Ready to go?" She asked, wrapping her arm protectively around Bella's shoulders. Bella was stiff for a second before relaxing into Kristi's side. Kristi started guiding Bella out of the room and past Alice and the others completely ignoring them. I followed them out. Alice's mouth was opening and closing like a gold fish. She was speechless. I just laughed at her and kept walking, she glared at me. I ran to catch up to my two girls and fell into step with them.

"Jasper take Bella, I'll follow behind you guys." Kristi said. I nodded and guided Bella to my car. I helped her into the passenger seat and buckled her in she was quiet but had a content smile on her face. I smiled slightly as I walked around the front and climbed into the driver's seat. As I started the car I could see the others standing outside the hospital doors watching us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kristi's bike pull out of a spot and stop waiting for me to lead the way. I pulled out of my spot and drove. I could see her following in the rear view mirror.

"I like her." Said Bella quietly. I looked over at her. She was gazing out the windshield at the road.

"Good I'm glad you do. If you didn't, I would say get used to it she's not going anywhere any time soon." I snorted. She laughed a little too. This was different. Bella hardly ever laughed. Maybe Kristi's presence was already taking affect. We pulled into our drive way a couple of minutes later and Kristi pulled in beside us. She climbed off of her bike and we climbed out of the car. I looked up at the sky; it was surprisingly sunny out, cold but sunny. I looked down at Kristi. She pulled off her helmet and shook her long black hair out. I felt like my heart stopped in my chest. What the heck was that feeling? Kristi smiled at me. She walked up to the house with Bella and I followed behind her. When all three of us were in the house we were all quiet. Surprisingly Bella broke the silence first.

"So…I don't know where you can sleep but…" Kristi raised her hand to stop her. She put her bag and helmet on the floor by the door. Standing back up she placed her hands on her hips.

"Don't worry about that now Bella, first things first, Jasper!" She said in a commanding voice. I snapped to attention in a salute.

"Yes Sir?" I said cheekily. She rolled her eyes

"I know it's late but go make something to eat…FOOL!" She yelled out. I laughed and walked to the kitchen. I glanced at the microwave clock. It was eleven at night. I guess I didn't realize how late it was. So much had happened today. It felt like an eternity ago that Alice and I broke up even though I knew it was only just this morning.

I set to making some food. It needed to be something bland so as to not upset Bella's stomach. Spaghetti was pretty bland, that would work. As I worked in the kitchen I could hear Kristi and Bella talking.

Bella's POV

"So, Bella tell me a bit about you." Said Kristi smiling form the other end of the couch. I sighed. "And don't leave out any details." Said Kristi loosing her smile and getting serious. She wanted everything. I nodded. I launched into my story. Everything from when my mom started drinking and left my dad to now. Half way through Jasper came out and ushered us into the kitchen to eat. I didn't stop talking though. I just kept going. I knew if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start back up again. We had finished eating a long time ago when I finally finished talking. Kristi was smiling at me.

"What?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Nothing kid." She glanced at her watch and sighed. "Well it's midnight. Bella I would really like it if you went to school tomorrow. So why don't you head up to bed. I know you said you usually sleep in Charlie's chair but I think it would be a good idea to start sleeping in your own bed." She said. I nodded.

"Okay Kristi." I said getting up and putting my dishes in my sink. I was only able to eat some of my portion but I could tell they were pleased with my effort. My stomach wasn't all that upset either. It was just plain pasta so it was bland enough to not get me sick. I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and waved good night to Jasper and Kristi.

Kristi's POV

"Hey I want you to go to school tomorrow too, ya know, to keep an eye on her." I said. Jasper nodded.

"She did well eating didn't she?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah we'll just have to keep it bland for a while. I'll go shopping tomorrow and find food I know she can eat, I'm going to get her some ensure too." I said quietly. Jasper nodded.

"Good night Kris." He said standing up from the table. He bent down and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes as his lips lingered on my skin. He pulled away slowly. He had a small smile on his face as he left the room. I waited until I heard him go up the stairs until I sighed and let my head thump down onto the table. God I loved that kid! I always pushed down my feelings because he had Alice and now he had Bella. I can tell he loves her. But I just love that boy, always have! I feel like he's my soul mate or some of that other corny stereotypical stuff. I sighed and picked up my head to look around the kitchen.

I knew I could help Bella. I knew the others are skeptical, but I can do it. I hadn't contacted Jasper in over a year and that was because I was finally getting my act together. I had moved to Seattle, gotten myself an apprentice job at a tattoo shop, got myself into therapy, and started to put myself back together.

I stood up and started washing the dirty dishes. Thoughts of doubt crept into my mind. How could I support two teenagers and myself? Hell I was still a teenager. I was only nineteen. And yet I found myself a guardian to a seventeen year old girl and in love with my eighteen year old best friend. We at least had a place to stay but the money any of us had saved in our accounts would eventually dry up. I knew Bella would be okay. Carlisle had told me she inherited everything Charlie had. But I couldn't expect her to pay for everything the three of us needed. As the "adult in charge" so to speak I should be the one providing for us. I had my GED and had never considered college because I knew I could never afford it. I was a certified tattoo and piercing artist but I knew for a fact there wasn't a single shop in Forks. Maybe that's what I could do. Open up a shop here. I walked over to my bag and pulled out my ancient third hand lap top. I plugged in the Ethernet cord and hopped on the internet and started looking for available properties in Forks. I worked all night. When the morning came I had a property I wanted picked out. It was near the high school too, if Bella ever needed me I could be there in a heartbeat. I had worked up a business statement for the bank, stating what I wanted to do. I would need this when I went to go get a loan. I had all my paper work printed out. And I had the real estate agents information printed out along with the address of the property I wanted. I shut my laptop as I heard movement up stairs. I rubbed my tired eyes and looked at the clock. It was seven.

I stood up and walked over to the percolator and started up some coffee. A half hour later I was sitting at the table again, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I could hear Bella and Jasper tromping down the stairs. They came into the kitchen laughing.

"Good morning." I said.

"Morning Kristi." They both said. Jasper lost his smile a little when he saw how tired I was. I ignored his inquiring looks and turned to Bella. I pointed her into the seat across from me. At her seat I had placed a cup of water and two pieces of plain toast with a cut up banana.

"Eat." I said smiling. She nodded and started to eat slowly. I pointed to the seat beside Bella, gesturing for Jasper to sit down too. I had made him an omelet. He sat down and bit into it. He smiled appreciatively as He realized I had made his favorite, ham and cheese with green peppers. Around 7 50 I looked up from my paper.

"Hey guys you might want to head out, school starts in a few." I said standing up and dumping my cup into the sink. I turned around and grabbed a pack of pop tarts out of the cabinet. I leaned up against the counter watching them put there dishes in the sink and grabbing their bags. "Bella ride with Jasper okay? Rose told me she has your keys, she didn't know what to do with them yesterday when she brought your truck home for you." Bella nodded and walked up to me. "Have a good day at school." I said wrapping her up into a tight hug.

"I will. What are you going to do all day?" She asked.

"Don't worry about that. I have a plan, but I don't want to tell you two unless it works out okay?" I asked. She nodded and headed out of the kitchen. Jasper approached me pulling his back pack on.

"What are you up to?" He said with a suspicious smile.

"Don't worry about it." I said crossing my arms and looking away from him. He laughed and kissed my forehead before heading out to his car. I sighed and went up stairs to shower. I had a long day ahead of me.

Bella's POV

"What do you think she's up to?" I asked. Jasper shrugged.

"I don't know. I asked her after you did and she wouldn't spill." We were quiet until we got to the school. "You ready for this?" He asked. I nodded and we both climbed out of the car. We walked slowly into the building avoiding everybody's gazes. Everybody had seen me pass out in the cafeteria yesterday, I'm sure they were all kind of curious. As I walked into the building I saw Edward by himself, he gave me a small smile. I smiled back a little. Then it dawned on me. How much did he know? He obviously didn't know much or he wouldn't be smiling at me. Come to think of it, Rose and Emmett were still kind of in the dark about everything, I think they had an idea but didn't know the whole picture. I would have to tell them later. I sighed as I headed to my first class; today was going to be a long day.


	14. Lunch

I hadn't seen Bella all morning. We didn't have any classes together during the day because she was a junior and I was a senior. The only time I got to see her was lunch. I hope she pulled through okay.

The morning had drifted by slowly. But finally it was lunch time. I was walking to the cafeteria when I heard someone calling my name.

"Jasper!" I turned around to see Alice approaching me at a fast pace. She skidded to a halt in front of me.

"What do you want Alice?" I asked crossing my arms defensively over my chest. She sighed and looked down. When she looked back up at me I was a little startled to see she was about to cry.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. My expression hardened.

"About what?" I asked coldly.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." I rolled my eyes at her. "No! I really am." She said grabbing my hand. I ripped my hand away from her.

"Alice that may or may not be true. I know what you are sorry about. That Bella won't be your friend that drives you crazy huh? That you aren't liked by everyone. You need to say 'look how many people like me' to validate how awesome you think you are." I said coldly, turning my head to look away. I heard her sniffle. My resolve crumbled a little. I turned back to her and sighed. "Listen Alice. You hurt me badly yesterday morning when you said what you did. Okay?" She nodded trying to stifle her oncoming tears. "And I'm sorry to say that was the last straw for me." She looked up at me startled.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"I don't know what you thought was going to happen, but we aren't getting back together…ever. We can be friends but that's it. Your jealousy and paranoia over first, Kristi, killed me and now you're doing it with Bella. Kristi and Bella are my two best friends in the entire world." I said looking down at the floor. She sighed.

"I guess I can accept that." She said. My head snapped up to look at her smiling face. I frowned at her.

"You guess you can?" I asked her smile dropped. "Alice don't play with me you don't have a choice. You accept those two and are my friend or you don't and in that case you can just stay the hell away from me." I said turning away from her. I was going to continue to keep walking to the cafeteria but she ran around in front of me.

"Look I'm sorry. I do want to be your friend." She said holding her hands up to stop me. I stilled just looking at her. She seemed like she meant it.

"Okay then." I said holding my arms out to her. She smiled and fell into my offered embrace.

"OW OW! That's right! You two crazy kids couldn't stay broken up for too long!" Yelled out Emmett as him Rose and Edward walked up to us. I immediately pulled away from Alice.

"We are not getting back together. We're just friends now Em." I said crossing my arms. Emmett looked at me like he didn't believe me.

"Yeah okay." He said mimicking my stance.

"Seriously Em we're not getting back together." Said Alice. He turned to look at her. She smiled at him. Edward walked up to her.

"You sure you're okay with that?" He asked, always the concerned older brother.

"Yes I am." She said smiling. She had better be it's her fault we're not together anymore.

"Well then now that that drama is over Jazz, you'll sit with us at lunch again right?" Rose asked coming over and wrapping her arms around my stoic form. I pulled away from her.

"I don't know. It's whatever Bella wants to do. You could try to help me convince her to sit with all of us." I said shrugging. I turned toward the cafeteria and resumed walking. I could hear the others following me. When we finally got to the cafeteria I could see Bella sitting at our table. I walked up to her with Rose and Emmett in tow, Alice and Edward went to the lunch line.

"Hey Bella baby!" Said Emmett, scooping her up out of her chair. She laughed uncomfortable, a little stiff. He put her down pouting at her.

"I could have sworn you were over me touching you and stuff." He said.

"I am you just startled me." She said reaching up and flicking his nose. He jerked away from her and rubbed his nose like a little kid. She laughed at him. She went to sit back down but Rose grabbed her arm.

"No way. Sit with us today." She said. Bella's face became panicked. She looked to me but I didn't make a move towards her.

"I think you should kid." I said quietly.

"Kristi wouldn't make me." She said trying to pull her arm away from Rose. I walked up to her and calmly took her arm away from Rose. I pulled Bella to my chest and bent my head to whisper in her ear.

"I think Kristi would see it as some sort of improvement. Don't you want to go home today and tell her some good news?" I asked. She sighed and rested her forehead on my shoulder.

"Fine." She said. I pulled away from her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I grabbed her back pack off the table and started guiding her toward where Alice and Edward were sitting. I sat her down in between me and Rose. Emmett sat down beside Rose and Alice. Edward was on my other side.

"Hi Bella!" Said Alice cheerily. "Feeling better?" She asked. I could tell she was restraining herself. She wanted to ask what had happened but she didn't want to scare off Bella.

"Yes." Said Bella timidly. I felt her pull away from the table a little and drift into my side. I laughed a little before opening up my back pack and pulling out two sack lunches. I handed one of the bags to her. "Where'd you get these?" She asked suspiciously.

"Kristi made them; she must have slipped them into my bag before we came downstairs this morning." I said smiling and digging into my lunch. The others started talking and eating but I watched Bella. She tenderly opened the bag and looked in. She smiled and started pulling things out. Her lunch was considerably less than mine. In mine Kristi had packed a sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, cookies, a water bottle, and a soda. In Bella's was a little thermos of noodle soup, a carton of ensure and a banana. Kristi had given Bella things I knew Kristi like to eat when she was recovering from Anorexia in one of the clinics.

Bella started to slowly eat. I turned away from her. I knew she wouldn't like it if I watched her. I saw Edward looking at her. I leaned into him.

"Don't watch her, you'll make her nervous." I whispered to him.

"She is alright isn't she?" He asked looking away from her to me.

"She'll be fine, don't worry." I said leaning away and taking a bite of my sandwich. He nodded and turned to talk to Alice.

"Man Kristi is already going into Momma mode making those lunches for you two." Said Emmett laughing. I laughed too.

"She sure is." I said. Bella smiled.

"She's the best Mom I've ever had." She said quietly. Alice and Edward looked confused. Rose and Emmett just smiled. They knew about Renee.

"I bet." Said Rose. She wrapped an arm around Bella and kissed her cheek. Bella giggled.

"Gross Rose, germs." She said wiping at her face. We all laughed. After that lunch went well. Bella even joined in a little on the conversation. When the bell rang I watched as she walked to her next class with Edward. He kept his hands in his pockets and made sure to give her some space as they walked. I made my way to math.

I knew Edward liked Bella by the way he acted. But I wasn't sure she could handle any sort of relationship outside of the purely platonic at this point. I hoped he wouldn't push her, and just let her come to him in her own time. I knew she eventually would. I could tell she liked him too.


	15. Therapy

I was so relieved when the day was finally over. Everywhere I went I could hear people whispering about me and my episode in the cafeteria yesterday. I tried my best to ignore them and keep going about my day, but it's hard. And after the thing with Mike after gym, I couldn't wait to go home and be with Jasper and Kristi where I knew I was safe.

Jasper pushed me to sit with him and his friends today and I was really nervous about doing it. I remembered how Alice acted in the hospital and I wasn't sure she would want me there. But she was very kind to me. I like her but she's going to take some getting used to.

Today after lunch Edward walked with me to Bio. He didn't question me to much or bother me. All he asked was if I was okay and if I like Kristi. He was really sweet and about it, which just endeared him to me even more. I could tell he liked me and I really like him. I'm just not sure I can handle a relationship now.

I walked out of the school building and traipsed over to Jasper's car, leaning against the passenger door, facing the school. I waited patiently for him, trying not to flinch as other students yelled and ran around me; happy school was out for the day. A few minutes later I saw him coming out of the main doors with the gang. They stopped by Edward's car and talked briefly before Jasper waved to them and made his way over to me.

"Hey. Did you have a good rest of the day?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"I guess." He gave me a small smile.

"You are oh so _eloquent_." He prodded, smirking at me as he walked around the car to the driver's side. I rolled my eyes at him before climbing in.

"Eloquent? That's a big word for such an _imbecilic_ guy." I said smirking. He glared at me while starting the car.

"We're not going to have another big word battle are we?" He asked as he pulled out of his parking spot. A few days ago Jasper and I were bored enough to have one of these battles. We were trying to see who could come up with the coolest big word. I won.

"Why? Do you want to lose again?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.

"I only lost because I was seriously _enervated_ at the time." He said smiling.

"Yeah right I won because you're _inane_." I mumbled. This went on the entire ride home when I won with the use of the words phlegmatic and hegemony. Jasper didn't even know what they meant. He was still pouting when we walked through the front door.

"Kristi?" I called out. Jasper walked into the living room and called my name softly.

"What?" I asked. He placed his finger to his lips and pointed to the couch. There Kristi was curled up and asleep. She was wearing a very baggy WSU hoodie and a pair of very baggy basket ball shorts.

"She stole my clothes." He mumbled shaking his head. I giggled. "Come on let's do our homework in the kitchen so we don't wake her up, I know she's really tired." He said, leading me into the kitchen.

"Why is she so tired?" I asked.

"I don't think she went to sleep at all last night." He said, getting started on his Calculus. I furrowed my brow.

"Why?" I asked, cracking open my Bio book. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I think it has something to do with whatever she was hiding from us. I think she was up all night planning." He said. I nodded my head. We both fell silent as we did our home work. We worked for hours before Kristi shuffled in. She waved her hand at us in acknowledgment as she walked over to the cabinet and opened it to get a mug. She looked tired. Her hair was sticking out of the hood of the sweatshirt all messy and her eyes were still clouded with sleep. She quietly heated up some water and put it in her mug and threw a tea bag in. She then came over and sat at the head of the table like she did last night, pulling her knee up to her chest for her chin to rest on while she drank.

"How was school?" She asked quietly, her voice croaky from sleep. Jasper looked up at her as he closed his Chemistry book.

"It was good." He said smiling at her. She smiled at him before turning to me.

"Bells?" She asked. "School?" She asked as she sipped her tea. I felt my nerves start to kick in.

"Um…school…was…um…it was okay?" I said, my statement coming out more like a question. She raised her eyebrow at me.

"Anything happen? Anything to report?" She asked looking at me kindly. I fiddled with my hands stuttering, luckily Jasper jumped in.

"Well today at lunch she sat with me and my friends, she doesn't normally do that." He said. I was looking down at my math book, my hands squirming on top of it as he said this. That part of the day was fine, that wasn't what was bothering me. Kristi reached over and placed her hand over mine. I slowly looked up at her to see her studying my face.

"That's not what's bothering you, is it?" She asked. I shook my head no. She nodded before sitting back. She glanced between me and Jasper.

"Hey Jazz, why don't you make dinner while I talk to Bella in the living room. I think it's time to have our first therapy session." She said smiling at him.

"Sure thing." He said standing up.

"Bella go wait for me in the living room." She said kindly. I nodded and got up, doing as she said.

Kristi's POV

I watched her as she walked out of the room. Once she was gone I stood up and turned to look at Jazz.

"Anything else happen that I should know about?" I asked seriously.

"All I can think of is that people were kind of staring and talking about her today. She doesn't really like to be put on the spot so that may be what's bothering her." He said quietly. I nodded and sighed, rubbing my eye with the heel of my hand while sipping my tea. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist. I kept my eyes closed as I lowered the cup, my free hand coming to rest on his bicep. I felt him lean forward and kiss my forehead.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I opened my eyes and nodded.

"I'm fine, just tired." I said. He smiled at me.

"Alright then. What should I make for dinner?" He asked. I smiled back at him. I loved the little dimples he had they were gorgeous, he should smile more often.

"I made some chicken noodle soup for Bella earlier today; all you have to do it heat it up. Make sure you put some crackers with it and get her a thing of ensure." I said tiredly.

"And what about us?" He asked me so intently that I almost felt like he wasn't just asking about food. I licked my lips, wetting them, and his gaze went right to it. I smiled slightly at this.

"Whatever you want is fine with me." I said. He smirked.  
"We are talking about food right?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"For the most part." I said. He laughed at me.

"Alrighty. Go talk to Bella, I'll make food." He said. I nodded and leaned down to kiss his chest, right over his heart. As I pulled away he was smiling big for me. I was reluctant to leave his embrace but I did, knowing that I really did need to talk to Bella.

I walked into the living room to see Bella curled up at one end of the couch waiting for me.

"Hey darlin'." I said smiling at her. She smiled back at me and turned towards me as I curled up at the other end of the couch, cradling my hot tea in my hands.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Alright. Tell me what is really bothering you about today." I said quietly.

"Well two things really. But it has nothing to do with lunch. I didn't mind sitting with Jasper and his friends today. I mean I didn't want to at first but he said you would want me to try so I did. That turned out fine." She said. I nodded.

"He was right, I would have wanted you to try, I'm proud that you did." I said smiling warmly at her. She smiled at me, sitting up a little straighter. I got the feeling she didn't get praise very often as a child.

"What bothered me today was that people were talking about me and staring. They were all talking about my little episode that I had in the cafeteria yesterday." She said quietly. I shook my head.

"Don't worry about that. I know it's easier said than done but honestly none of those kids matter okay? What matters is you and how you feel." I said sipping on my tea. She nodded.

"I know." She said smiling at me. I nodded.

"What's the other thing?" I asked. She stared at me.

"What?" She asked.

"You said there were two things that bothered you about today. What's the other thing?" I asked looking at her over the rim of my mug. She slumped a little, no longer looking happy from the praise I gave her. She sighed and looked at me through her brow.

"Don't tell Jasper okay?" She asked. I raised my eyebrow and scooted closer to her.

"What happened?" I asked setting down my mug and taking her cold hands in my warm ones. She gripped mine tightly.

"Mike Newton happened." She mumbled. I let out the breath I was holding. I was afraid she was going to say that she had hurt herself or that she had thrown up.

"Mike Newton? He's the guy that has been harassing you right? Emmett told me all about him." I said quietly. We had lowered our voices so Jasper wouldn't hear. She nodded.

"When did Emmett tell you?" She asked.

"I called him and Rose last night after you went to bed. I had them tell me everything." I said.

"Everything?" She asked uneasily. I nodded. She sighed.

"So you know about my nightmares?" She asked.

"Yes. And we will eventually talk about them and Charlie and your Mom. I actually have a mental list of things I want to talk to you about. But for today I think we can stick to this Mike Newton guy." I said trying to reassure her that she didn't need to spill her guts totally today. She relaxed a little.

"Okay." She said. She leaned forward a little on her knees. We both adjusted ourselves so we were facing each other, sitting Indian style, still holding one another's hands.

"What did he do?" I asked.

"He cornered me after gym, we have that class together. He tried getting me to go out with him again and like always I just kept refusing. He grabbed me and shook me a little." She said. She pulled her hand away and to pull off her zip up. She pushed her shirt sleeves up to show me finger shaped bruise marks on her biceps. I carefully wrapped my hands around the bruises, the hand prints considerably larger then my own. I looked up at her and saw she was crying. I let go of her arms and she quickly pulled her zip up back on. I pulled her into a hug.

"He was telling me he was going to get me that I couldn't keep denying him for long. And that he wasn't afraid to take what's his. And then he…" she drifted off trying to control her breathing.

"What did he do?" I murmured, rubbing her back trying to sooth her.

"He grinded into me and told me I felt really fucking good and that he couldn't wait to be inside me." I pulled away from her sharply and looked at her seriously.

"He what?" I asked. She flinched at my biting tone.

"He let me go after that and I ran out to the car park." She said not looking at me. I shook her a little.

"Bella look at me." She did. "That is sexual harassment. Did you tell a teacher?" I asked. Her eyes widened and she looked scared, shaking her head. I sighed. Mike has been harassing Bella since she got to the school but now he was escalating. This needed to be taken care of and I knew she wouldn't take care of it on her own.

"Bella I'm calling the school and we are going to have a sit down with the principle. This can't go on." I said seriously. She looked utterly frightened.

"Kristi I don't know." She said, lowering her gaze from mine. I ducked my head slightly to meet her eyes.

"Bella I cannot let this boy keep hurting you. I am your guardian. As such it is my job to look out for you and take care of you. I _will_ call the school tomorrow and we _will_ have a sit down with the principle." I said sternly, taking her hands in mine again. She nodded sadly. I sighed, her broken look melting my icy disposition a little. "Darlin' I love you okay? And I just don't want you hurting anymore." I said softly. She looked at me a little shocked. Another fact to file away, not only did she never get praised as a child but she must not have been told she was loved very much. Case and point being her disbelieving look. I smiled as I pulled her into a tight hug. It took her a minute but she relaxed into my grip and wrapped her arms tightly around me as well. Our sweet moment was interrupted then by Jasper.

"Dinner's ready guys." He said. We broke apart to see him leaning against the door frame smiling at us. I growled at him.

"You sure know how to ruin a beautiful moment." I said. He laughed at me which got Bella to laugh. My hard expression softened a bit at the sound. Her laugh was sweet and child like.

"Yeah, yeah. Come eat. And let's not talk about my faults okay?" He asked raising an eye brow at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm fucking perfect." I said grabbing Bella's hand and pulling her to the kitchen, sticking my tongue out at Jasper as we passed him.

"Yeah okay. Perfect says the thief." He said flopping into his chair.

"I'm no thief." I said flicking him on the arm.

"You stole my clothes." He dead panned. I looked down at what I was wearing.

"Yeah a year and a half ago. Ya know? The last time I saw you." I smirked. He rolled his eyes.

"Kristi? Why haven't you visited in so long?" Bella asked quietly. I glanced over to her as she sipped her soup. I gave her a small smile and shook my head.

"All in good time Bella. I'll tell you everything about me eventually okay?" I asked. She nodded. I glanced at Jasper as Bella dug in. He was looking at me with a raised eyebrow, a question in his eyes. I knew he wanted to know too. He also probably wanted to know why I had been in Seattle and hadn't told him. I shook my head and turned to my food. We weren't having this conversation now.

The rest of the night went well. We got Bella to laugh and smile a little more and she actually ate quite a bit. Around ten I told her she should probably get to bed and she did as I asked. Before she went up stairs she gave me a hug and whispered in my ear.

"Good night Mom." She pulled away and went upstairs. I must have looked stunned because Jasper spoke up.

"What?" He asked slightly amused.

"She called me mom." I said a slight smile on my face. He laughed at my goofy expression.

"Yeah I forgot to tell you. Today at lunch she said you were the best Mom she has ever had." He said. I looked down at my feet and smiled. It made me feel good knowing I was doing right by her already. I heard Jasper get up from his position in Charlie's recliner and come and join me on the couch. He laid his arm on the back of the couch behind my head. He leaned in slightly until I felt his warm breath on my cheek.

"So now that she is upstairs are you going to tell me why you were gone so long?" He asked. I turned my head slightly towards him. A little more and we would be nose to nose. A little more and I could close the distance and let my lips brush his. I colored a little at the thought and he smirked slightly. I shook my head.

"No not yet." I said quietly. He frowned; I knew that wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Are you going to tell me what you were planning this morning?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Well how about why you were in Seattle and you didn't even tell me but Rose knew and could call you." He said. I shook my head again.

"Not yet Jasper, seriously drop it for now. I want right now to be about Bella, not me. We don't need to get into me right now okay?" He sighed and pulled away from me a little. I missed the warmth.

"Okay. If you want to talk about Bella then we will. Did she tell you what was bothering her during her therapy session?" He asked. I sighed I knew he wasn't going to like this.

"I'm sorry Jasper but she asked me not to tell you." I said weakly. He pulled completely away from me now. He looked frustrated.

"What the hell Kristi? Are you not going to tell me anything?" He asked angrily. I sighed and bit my lip.

"I'm sorry okay? I can't tell you exactly what happened but there was a problem at school today. I'm going to call the school and have a meeting with the principle. Afterwards I'll talk Bella into telling you but for right now please just respect what she wants and let me handle it." I said. He stood up and walked away from me. He walked to the door way and turned to look back at me. He looked angry.

"Bella is my best friend I want to help her just as much as you do. Keeping secrets isn't a good thing Kristi. It's one of the things that got Bella into a lot of trouble, and I distinctly remember it's one of the things that got you into a lot of trouble too." He said crossing his arms.

"I know Jasper but please just wait I promise you will know, just not right now." I pleaded with him, my voice slightly panicked as I got up and walked over to him. I placed my hands on his shoulders as he looked stonily down at me.

"Please Jazz please." I whispered laying my forehead on his chest. I felt him relax under my touch. He uncrossed his arms to wrap them tightly around my waist. He sighed heavily.

"I want you to know I don't like this at all and you had better tell me tomorrow after school." He said. I looked up at him expecting to see him glaring at me but was met with a soft and kind expression. I nodded. He smiled slightly and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. I closed my eyes, savoring this contact.

"Jasper I promise okay? She's just afraid. Let me handle it tomorrow with the principle. I will talk to Bella and then we will tell you. Alright?" I asked. He nodded.

"Alright." Reluctantly I pulled away from him. He frowned.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked reaching for me. I smiled.

"You need to go to bed." I said batting away his hands. He sighed but nodded letting his hands drop. "You have school tomorrow." I said softly.

"Yeah yeah. Good night." He said. He turned and went upstairs. After I heard his door close I went around the house checking the locks before settling onto the couch, the only light on being the lamp by Charlie's chair.

Jasper's and my relationship was so confusing at times. But I was hoping now that he wasn't with Alice we could be so much more than friends.

Today I had gone to the bank to get a loan for the tattoo shop I was hoping to open. I was successful and I quickly bought the property. Now all I needed to do was get everything set up on the sly. I didn't want Jasper and Bella to know yet, I wanted it to be a surprise. The shop was going to be in Forks's only strip mall, right next to Newton's sporting goods.

I sat straight up. Newton? That was the same last name as that little turd who was harassing Bella. I sighed as I flopped back down; this was going to be interesting to say the least.


	16. Head Ache

I groaned as the annoying beeping of my alarm clock reached my ears. I slowly rolled over to stare at the offending object. Red numbers blinked at me over and over at me telling me it was 6 00 and that it was time to get up. I reached over a heavy arm and smacked my hand down on top of it. It immediately stopped its infernal beeping. I sighed as I collapsed onto my back, spread eagle across the bed, staring at the ceiling.

I barely slept last night. I only got to sleep not even two hours ago. I just couldn't sleep; my mind wouldn't quit going a mile a minute. Kristi was the one that had me up all night thinking. What were we? Our relationship wasn't really friends anymore but it's not like we were dating either. We were in that weird in between unsure stage. And was I really ready to be in a relationship already? I had just broken it off with Alice a few days ago. And as much as I didn't like what Alice did to me it wouldn't be fare to her to move on so fast, especially with someone who she didn't like very much.

And what was with Kristi and Bella. What the hell are the hiding? Kristi knows it really gets under my skin when she keeps things from me that could be really important. I mean I'm pretty sure it's important if she is calling the principle to have a meeting with him. I wanted to stay mad at her last night but the look on her face as she pleaded with me last night just about killed me. I could never stay mad at her for long. She just had a way about her I'll never understand.

I sighed as I rolled to my side and looked at the clock again.

"Shit!" I yelled as I jumped up out of the bed. I hadn't been paying attention to how long I had been laying there. It was 6 45. Bella and I would have to leave in twenty minutes and I needed a fucking shower. I ran to the bathroom and took as quick a shower as I could. It was freezing because Bella got to the shower before me this morning. But I suppose it's a good thing a cold shower would wake me up enough so I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel while I drove us to school. I should have gone to bed sooner then 4 00 but I just couldn't stop thinking.

I raced to my room and threw on my clothes, plain jeans, a T shirt, hoodie, converse, and my civil war jacket. I grabbed my back pack and ran downstairs. It occurred to me as I tried not to trip down the stairs that Alice would be appalled at what I was wearing but I couldn't even remotely bring myself to care. I was tired and I could feel a headache starting, a dull pulsing pain getting stronger behind my eyes and in my temples. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I dug into my back pack and pulled out a little black case. Inside were my glasses and my contact case. I took out my contacts quickly and shoved my glasses on. They were plastic brown square type frames.

I sighed as I traipsed into the kitchen and glanced at the clock, I had managed to get ready in time and had ten minutes to spare to eat breakfast. I dropped heavily into my chair to the left of Kristi who was sitting at the head of the table again. Bella was across from me already eating. She glanced up at me and smiled before looking down and then did a double take.

"Are you wearing glasses?" She asked trying to stifle a laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah yeah yuck it up. I didn't sleep well last night. I'm really tired and I have a head ache. There is no way I'm wearing my contacts." I said warily. I looked down at my breakfast which was biscuits and gravy. A good southern home cooked breakfast. Kristi knew it was my favorite. We used to eat it all the time together when we were younger and still living in Texas with our dead beat parents. And as much as I wanted to eat it I couldn't. My head ache was starting to make my stomach churn. I reached up and pushed my plate away, turning my head away from it, making sure not to look at Kristi. I knew she would probably be a little hurt at my refusal to eat, especially since she always took the time to make the biscuits from scratch. I heard her sigh.

"Jasper I know you don't feel good but you really should eat." She said quietly. I shook my head. I could see in my peripherals that Bella was staring at me. It occurred to me then that I wasn't being a very good example to her. I noticed she had barely touched her plain grits that Kristi had made her. Kristi's grits were my favorite especially if she added cheese and chili powder. What was this? Southern breakfast morning?

I turned my head to fully look at Bella and nodded my head at her.

"Eat. Just because I'm not doesn't mean you shouldn't." I said to her. She glanced down at her bowl and scrunched up her nose.

"They taste funny. I've never had grits before." She said. Kristi laughed and I couldn't help but smile even if I wasn't in a good mood. I flipped my hood onto my head and then crossed my arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Kristi's grits are the best ever." I said. Kristi snickered.

"You're biased. I made those for breakfast for you every day for a year in middle school. Don't worry Bella grits are an acquired taste. You know what make them a little better tasting?" She asked. Bella shook her head. Kristi got up and walked over to the kitchen island and picked up a little bear shaped bottle.

"A little honey darlin'." She said, a little of her southern twang getting into her speech. Bella giggled and nodded. Kristi came over and mixed a little honey into the grits. Bella tried them then and smiled quickly taking another bite. Kristi sat down looking a little smug.

"Nice accent Kris." I mumbled to her. She reached over and punched my arm.

"Shut it. You know I can't help it. Besides you have an accent too you just hide it a little better than I do." She said. Bella looked up.

"You have an accent?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Kristi and I are from the great state of Texas, we grew up there. We both have accents. I don't know about Kris but when I came up north I got made fun of for it so I started talking like a yank." I said letting my accent slip in a little which made Bella laughed at.

"I think you should talk with it." She said. I shook my head. "Why doesn't Rose have an accent? She's your twin right?" She asked.

"Um I know it seems like a trivial thing, accents, but I would rather not talk about it now Bells." I said. Bella shrugged and kept eating, being the good friend that she is she didn't push it. I looked over to Kristi who was looking at me with a slight frown.

"Do you want some grits instead of biscuits Jasper?" She asked trying to steer the conversation away from uncomfortable territory. I sighed and shook my head.

"No." I said. She frowned. She got up and walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a bottle and then filled me a mug full of hot tea. She walked over to me and placed both in front of me, hot tea and aspirin. I smiled at her in thanks and quickly took two. I let the tea seep through me, relaxing me. I was always so uptight when I got sick. I looked over at her gratefully but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at her watch.

"You guys should probably head out." She said standing again. We nodded and stood. I slung my back pack on as Bella took her dishes over to the sink. "Bella I already called the school I will be there during third period okay so be prepared when you get called to the office during that class okay?" Kristi asked. Bella nodded. Kristi handed something to Bella and then leaned forward to whisper something to her. Bella glanced at me smiling and nodding her head. She walked past me to go and get her back pack. I was left alone with Kristi. She was leaning against the island and looking me up and down as I was her. She was wearing a pair or brown corduroys, a Ramones baseball style T shirt and her converse. I walked over to her and she reached up to my head. She tugged down my hood.

"No hats or hoods on in the house darlin'." She said with her Texas accent. I smiled. That was the Kristi I knew.

"Sorry ma'am I meant no offence." I said letting my speech slip from north to south like hers. She smirked.

"Come on Jazz let's go!" Bella called from the front hallway.

"Coming Bells!" I yelled back. I leaned forward and kissed Kristi's forehead. She wrapped her arms around my waist for a quick hug. But all to soon she was releasing me.

"Alright get on now, you best be good now." She said really letting the south come out. I laughed and nodded. I gave her another quick kiss, this time on her cheek close to her mouth and ran off before she could say anything. I heard her laughing behind me.

"Let's go." I said to Bella who was waiting patiently by the door. As we walked outside I pulled my hood back up it was cool out, winter was approaching fast. I could feel my head ache already coming back. I would have to ask Kristi to grab better pain killers from the store for me. I rubbed my head as Bella and I drove to school. She was quiet until we got to the school parking lot. She opened her back pack as I parked. I could see a brown paper bag in there, her lunch. Kristi must have put that there. I knew I would find a similar one in mine. Bella reached into her back pack and pulled out a little clear container and a spoon. She handed them to me.

"Kristi said to eat this when you get the chance. She doesn't like that you refused to eat." She said. I opened the top and smiled.

"Grits with cheese and chili powder. She knows me so well." I said. I looked up at Bella to see her making a face.

"I will never understand you guys." She said before climbing out of the car. I laughed as I climbed out too. I pulled on my back pack and then as much as I didn't want to eat right now I dug into the grits. I knew Kristi would be seriously unhappy if I didn't. We walked over to the gang as I ate. When we got over there Bella stuck close to my side, still not completely comfortable around everyone.

"Dude what is that?" Emmett asked pointing at my grits while wrinkling his nose at it. I was about to speak when Rose spoke up.

"Kristi's amazing grits." She said smiling. She walked over to me and dipped her finger into it, eating some.

"Cheese and chili powder, you are so predictable." She said to me. I shrugged still eating.

"That looks really gross." Said Edward.

"They're really good with honey." Bella said softly. I smiled as everyone looked at her. She blushed.

"Yeah they are Bells." I said trying to get everyone's attention off of her. She was uncomfortable but I couldn't help but to feel a little proud of her. She was actually contributing to the conversation instead of hiding behind me.

"Jasper what are you wearing?" Alice asked. I looked over to her to see er staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Clothes." I said eliciting a laugh from the others.

"If that's what you call them." She said sniffing. I snorted. When Alice and I were dating she would dress me in things like khakis and sweaters and loafers, preppy shit. Shit that wasn't me. She studied my face as I put the top back on the container and handed them to Bella who put them into her back pack.

"Why are you wearing your glasses?" Alice asked.

"I didn't sleep much last night and I have a head ache." I said shrugging as randomly Theory of a Dead Man's Bad girlfriend started playing.

"You never used to wear your glasses." She mumbled, I ignored as her as I tried to figure out where the song was coming from I knew it was my phone but I wasn't sure where it was.

"What it that?" Bella asked.

"It's my phone, it means Kristi is calling." I said. Emmett raised his eyebrow at me.

"Bad girlfriend? Is Kristi a bad girl friend?" He asked. I rolled my eyes at him as I started singing along to the song.

"My Girlfriend's a dick magnet My Girlfriend's gotta have it  
She's hot, can't stop, up on stage, doing shots, Tip the man he'll  
Ring the bell, get her drunk she'll scream like hell.  
Dirty girl, gettin' down, dance with guys from outta town.  
Grab her ass, actin' tough. Mess with her, she'll fuck you up.  
No one really knows if she's drunk or if she's stoned, but she's  
Comin' back to my place tonight!" I sang victoriously as I pulled the phone from the bottom of my backpack. I answered still singing the song.  
"She likes to shake her ass she grinds it to the beat  
She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth  
I like to strip her down she's naughty to the end  
You know what she is, no doubt about it  
She's a bad, bad girlfriend!" I sang to her. I could hear her laughing at me. Everyone else was laughing at me too except Alice. She didn't look happy. I realized I didn't answer Emmett's question about Kristi being my bad girlfriend.

"You're such a goof ball." Kristi said. I laughed.

"You're one to talk." I said.

"Yeah yeah. Did you eat your grits Jasper?" She asked. I snorted. I should have known she would be calling about that.

"Yes ma'am I did." I said with a southern twang. I saw Alice look shocked. I never spoke like that in front of them. Rose laughed at me and Emmett and Edward started teasing me about it.

"Good. Tell Edward and Emmett to shut the hell up or else." She said. I relayed her message and they shut right up. They were scared of her. Last time they pissed her off they both ended up with one less eyebrow each. "How are you feeling Jazz? Better?" She asked hopefully.

"No actually. Do me a favor and get stronger painkillers today if you can." I said.

"No problem." She said as the bell rang.

"I gotta go Kristi, love you." I said.

"I love you too." She said before hanging up. Alice was practically glaring daggers at my phone. I just snorted which I instantly regretted as my head throbbed. I turned to Emmett as we walked to the school.

"To answer your earlier question Kristi is not my girlfriend." I said. He shrugged.

"Yeah well that song is like her anthem, she is wild!" He exclaimed. Rose reached over and smacked him upside the head. I smiled. He was right though. She is wild, or rather she used to be wild but now she seemed a little toned down, which was a good thing since she was supposed to be a parent to Bella.

I got through first period alright but second period was murder. I felt like my head was eating itself from the inside out. I could barely see and I was felt like I was going to barf. My English teacher sent me to the nurses to lie down. Sometime later I heard over the intercom Bella being called to the principal's office. Kristi was here. Maybe I could get her to take me home. Sometime later the nurse came over to me and patted my arm to get my attention.

"Feeling any better Jasper?" She asked. I shook my head and groaned when it made the room spin.

"Would you like me to call someone to come and get you?" She asked.

"Yeah." I managed out.

"What's your mothers number dear?" She asked. I sat up slowly.

"No not my mom. I don't live at home anymore." I said. She looked at me sympathetically.

"Then where do you live?" She asked.

"With my friend and her guardian." I said clenching my teeth as pain shot through my temples.

"Would you like me to call the guardian?" She asked. I nodded and gave her Kristi's number. "What does she like to be called?" She asked as she dialed.

"Kristi." I mumbled. She was quiet for a few seconds before speaking into the phone.

"Hello Kristi this is Nurse Lark at Forks High School. I have Jasper here and he isn't feeling good and he said you would be able to pick him up and take him home. Alright. Bye bye." She said. She turned to me with a smile.

"She said she's already at the school for Bella Swan so she'll come over here and get you." She said. I could tell she was wondering about Bella but I wasn't going to tell her everything. I leaned against the wall sitting Indian style on the cot waiting for Kristi. The door to the nurses office swung open a few minutes later and in walked Kristi.

"Yes dear sign in and show me your pass and tell me what's wrong." Said Nurse Lark thinking Kristi was a student. I suppressed a laugh as Kristi laughed out loud.

"Um no. I'm Kristi. I'm here to pick up Jasper Whitlock." She said. The nurse looked surprised to say the least. She pointed in my direction wordlessly watching Kristi. Kristi turned to me with a smirk which she quickly lost. She sighed.

"Well look at you darlin'. Ready to go home?" She asked walking over to me.

"Yeah." I said. She helped me swing my legs over the side of the cot. I stood up and stumbled a little but she surprisingly caught me. She reached up and kissed my jaw. I could see Nurse Lark looking a little scandalized. I l tried not to laugh.

"Come on you. I already texted Rose to drive your car home for you after school." She said leading me out of the nurse's office. When we got outside she reached up and pulled my hood up. I smiled down at her as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"How did the meeting with the principle go?" I asked weakly. She smirked triumphantly.

"I am so fucking awesome." She said smartly. I laughed at her as she looked smug.

"Tell me about it." I mumbled.

"Oh I will." She said.


	17. Hiatus until further notice

**My apologies but all stories are on hiatus until further notice.**


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